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This  book  was  presented  by 

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EUROPEAN  AND    JAPANESE  GARDENS 


European  and  Japanese  Gardens  . 

Papers  read  before 
The  American  Institute  of  Architects 


^^£o^.^i\     (^Aj~-r\r^ 


ITALIAN    GARDENS.     By  A.   D.   F.   Hamlin 
ENGLISH    GARDENS.     By  R.  Clipston  Sturgis 
FRENCH    GARDENS.     By  John  Galen   Howard 
JAPANESE    GARDENS,     ^v   K.   Honda 


Edited  for  The  American  Institute  of  Architects 
By  Glenn  Brown,  Secretary 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

HENRY    T.   COATES    &    CO. 

1902 


UGHTED,    1902 
T.    COATES    &    Co. 


;es   i^-   So 
Phi  LA 


INTRODUCTION 

Only  within  a  very  recent  period  have  architects  of 
the  United  States  appreciated  the  fact  that  the  garden 
should  be  designed  in  connection  with  the  house.  To 
encourage  and  popularize  this  fact  the  Committee  of 
Arrangements  for  the  Thirty-fourth  Annual  Convention 
of  the  American  Institute  of  Architects  determined  to 
make  the  subject  of  Gardens  one  of  the  principal  topics 
of  consideration.  It  was  fortunate  to  have  been  able 
to  secure  papers  from  those  who  were  such  enthusiastic 
and  scholarly  students  of  the  field  which  each  presented 
in  their  papers  to  the  Institute.  The  articles  were 
read  in  Washington,  D.  C,  December  14th,  1900,  and 
they  produced  such  a  favorable  impression  that  it  was 
thought  proper  by  the  Board  of  Directors  to  have 
them,  together  w^ith  the  illustrations,  printed  so  that 
their  influence  would  be  of  a  more  permanent  value. 
x\fter  due  consideration  by  the  Board  the  publication 
of  the  material,  under  the  supervision  of  the  Institute, 
was  given  to  The  Architectural  Publishing  Company  of 
Philadelphia.  In  the  work  as  issued  the  authors  have 
in  some  cases  enlarged  the  scope  of  their  papers  and 
many  illustrations  in  addition  to  those  presented  to 
the  Institute  have  been  inserted  in  the  present  volume. 


88843 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  Italian   Formal  ( Garden ii 

English  Ctardens 67 

French  Gardening  and  Its  Master 97 

Japanese  Gardens 131 

Notes  on  a  Japanese  CiArden  in  California 159 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


Italian  Gardens  : 

Villa  Corsini,  Stairway 


Front i 


Villa  Corsini,    Detail  of   the  Stairway 

Villa   Lante,    (General  View 

The  Plan 

"     ■    Approach  to  Central   Fountain       .    . 

"         Fountain  and   Stairway 

"        The  Central   Fountain 

"        Small   Fountain 

ilia  Pia,    Bird's-eye  View 

Plan  of  Casino  and  Terrace 

la   Caprarola,   The   Lower  Fountain 

Fountain  of  The  (ioblet    .... 

ilia   Borghese,    Fountain      

"  Temple  of  yEsculapius 

"  The  Casino 

■'  Small   Fountains  and  Sculpture     . 

Avenue     

"  Wall  Fountain 

ilia  d'Este  at  Tivoli,  Bathing  Pool 

"        "        "       The  Palace  and  Terracing 
"        "        "        Ruined  Water-Organ       .    . 

The   Plan 

"        "        "        Lower  Level  and   Pools     . 
Caserta,  Approach  to   Rear  of  the   Palace   .... 

"  Water  Course 

"  Upper  Cascade  and  Action  (iroup      .     . 

"  Central   Feature  of  Water  Course  .... 

(reneral   \'iew  of  A\enue 

Villa  Colonna,    Entrance  (Gateway 

Villa  Pamfili   Doria,   The   Plan 

\'iew  trom  the  Terrace      .     . 

Royal   \'illa  Castello,    Fountain 

\'illa  Albani,  \'iew  from  Colonnade 

Fountain  and  Terrace 


^lece 

PAGE 

63 
10 
21 

29 

35 
37 
46 

13 
14 
16 
32 
17 
19 
26 

34 
43 
60 

17 

22 

33 

54 
39 
20 
40 
41 
41 
42 

23 
24 

25 
27 
28 

44 


Italian   CiARDkxs — Coiitiniicii  :  page 

\'illa   Alhani.  The  Central    I'ountain 45 

Entrance  Ciatc 53 

^'illa   (I'llstc  on    Lake   ("omo.    Cascade  of  Hercules 30 

l'H)l)oli    Cardens,    [''ountain 36 

.\\eniie 47 

Ilex  Tunnel 48 

Amphitheatre 49 

'•               ••           luitrance  and    Rear  of  I'itti    I'alace 52 

The   Hill   Walk 58 

^■illa    Petraia,    Fountain 46 

Villa    Medici.    The    Plan 50 

Farnese  (iardens,    Section  and   Pers|)eitive   (Drawings) 51 

Villa  Aldobrandini,   The   Plan      55 

"                 "               The  Chateau  d'Eau 56 

Villa  Torlonia — Conti,   Water  Works 57 

Isola  Bella 59 

Hillside  Cardens  near  Naples 62 

Enc;lish   Cardens  : 

View  from  Montecute  House 66 

A  Terrace  at  Montecute 68 

Flowers  against   the  Terrace   \\a\\  at    Montecute 69 

A   Double   Bordered   Path 70 

A  Garden  backed  with  Trees       71 

The  Gardens  at   Frankleigh 72 

A  Shaded  Walk  at   Frankleigh 73 

A   Walk  before  the   House 74 

On   the  Terrace  at    Frankleigh 75 

A  Ciarden   Corner 76 

Box  Bordered  Beds 77 

Terraces      78 

A  Small   House-Court 78 

A   Broad  Walk   to  the   House 79 

The   More    l-ormal   Garden,   ^^'ilton 80 

The  Garden  Walk 81 

Gardens  of  Heathfield   House       82 

A   Modern    House  and   Garden 83 

Cirass  Terraces  and   Garden-House       84 

Gardens  of  Kiddington    Hall 85 

The  Si)acious   I-Tfect  at   Eynsham    Hall 86 

The   Wall   of  a   Modern    Garden       87 


Ex(;lish   (tAKDKXs — Continued:  page 

A    Level   Stretch •      .     .     .  88 

A   Pool 89 

A   \\'ell-lai(l   Lawn 90 

A   (harden    Path 90 

The  Oblong  Pool 91 

An  Outlook  from  the   House 92 

A  Hedge  (Gateway 93 

French  Gardens : 

\'ersailles,   The   P)asin  of  Latone      96 

Lead   \'ase 97 

The   Plan 98 

"  Basin   of  Latone  and  the  Tapis  \'ert 99 

P>asin  of  Latone  and  the   Palace 

The    Basin   of  Ajjollo 

The    liasin   of  Ceres 

"  (irove  of  the   Colonnade 

"  The   Ikisin   of  the   Dragon       

*'  The   Orangery 

The  (xarden  of  the  Orand  Trianon 

Fontainebleau,   The  Cross  of  Franchard 

(xorge  of  the   Medlars 

The  Plan       

"  The  Palace  from  the   Park 

"  The  Palace  from  the   Parterres 

''  The  Gardens 

Basin   of  the   Cascade       

Chantilly,    The   Chateau   from   the    Lake 

"  The  Gardens 

"  "  The  Isle  of  Love  " 

Marly,  Plan  of  the   Park 

The  Tuileries,   (ieneral   View 

"  A  Promenade 

"  The  Main  Avenue 

The  Tuileries  and  the   Louvre 

Luxembourg,   The   Medici    Fountain 

"  A  P^ountain       

Gardens  and    Palace 

The   Plan 

St.    Cloud.   The   Plan 

The   Park 


19 


French  (jardkns — Confi/ii/ed  :  pace 

The   (Irand  Cascade       126 

"            Ruins  of  the   Palace 127 

St.    Ciermain.    The    Terrace 128 

JaPANKSK    CiARIiKXS  : 

Prince   Hotta's  (iarden 130 

Mangwanji  Ciarden 131 

Plate  I — Hill  Garden  :    Finished  Style 132 

Duke  Shimazu's  Garden 133 

The  Mikado's  Garden,    Tokio 134 

The  Fukiage  Garden 135 

Garden  of  the  Imperial   Palace 136 

Stone   Lanterns,    Uyeno 137 

Sorinto,    Nikko       138 

Fukagawa  Garden 139 

Plate  II — Hill  Garden  ;   Intermediary  Style 141 

Plate   III — Hill  (iarden;    Rough  Style 141 

Plate   IV — Flat  (iarden  ;   Finished  Style 142 

Kasuga,    Nara 143 

Bracket   Bridge,    Fukagawa  Garden 144 

A  (Gentleman's  (iarden,    F3ancho 145 

Plate  ^' — Flat  (iarden  ;    Intermediary    Style 146 

Plate  VI — Flat   (iarden  ;    Rough  Style 146 

Stone  Steps,   Hakone  Temple 147 

Kunoozan  Temple  at  Shizuoka 148 

Plate  ^TI — (iarden   Lanterns 149 

Plate  \l\l — Water-Basins  and   Lanterns 149 

A  Tea-House  Garden,   Tokio 150 

(iarden  of  the  Akasaka  Rikiu 152 

Plate  IX — Garden  Fences 153 

Plate   X — Garden  Gateways 154 

Plate  XI — (iarden   Bridges 155 

Plate  XII — Ciarden  Arbors 155 

A  Japanese  (iARDEN  in  California  : 

(ieneral   View 158 

The   F^ntrance 159 

Mowers  in   Pots 160 

Inside  the  F^ntrance       161 

Summer- House  and  Stream       162 


THE    ITALIAN    FORMAL    GARDEN 

^r   Prof.    A.    D.    F.    Hamlin 


THE  ITALIAN  FORMAL  GARDEN 

By   A.    D.    F.    HAMLIN 

AUJUNCT    PROFESSOR    OF    ARCHITECTURE,   COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY 
I. 

A  GARDEN  is  a  portion  of  the  earth's  surface  humanized. 
Nature  is  subjected  to  the  designer's  will ;  trees,  grass, 
flowers  and  shrubs  are  made  to  do  his  bidding,  and 
an  ordered  design  takes  the  place  of  the  capricious  wildness 
of  the  primitive  growth.  Gardening,  as  one  of  the  decorative 
arts,  deals  with  the  materials  of  the  earth's  surface,  and  the 
vegetation  and  water  which  dixersify  and  embellish  it.  In  any 
style  of  gardening  the  results  of  the  designer's  labors  are,  and 
must  be,  artificial,  whether  he  seek  to  counterfeit  the  appear- 
ance of  the  primitive  meadow,  forest  and  thicket,  or  to  arrange 
his  combinations  of  earth,  rock,  plants  and  water  upon  some 
arbitrary  and  conventional  system.  The  different  schools  of 
the  art  are  distinguished  largely  by  the  degree  to  which  they 
incline  towards  one  or  the  other  of  these  systems  of  treatment : — 
towards  naturalistic  picturesqueness,  or  towards  monumental 
and  artificial  regularity.  The  Italian  villa  gardens  of  the 
Renaissance  are  the  highest  representative  of  the  second 
system. 

Gardening  is  an  art  of  peace  and  luxury,  and,  as  an 
accompaniment  of  buildings,  follows  in  the  wake  of  architec- 
ture. "  Without  it,"  says  Bacon,  writing  in  Elizabeth's  time,- 
"  buildings  and  palaces  are  but  gross  handiworks ;  and  a  man 
shall  ever  see  that  when  ages  grow  to  civility  and  elegancy,) 
men  come  to  build  stately  sooner  than  to  garden  finely."  As( 
an  art  of  luxury  it  fared  poorly  in  the  Dark  and  Middle  Ages  ; 
but  when  the  Renaissance  revived  the  arts  of  ancient  Rome  in 
the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  and  the  increasing  sta- 
bility of  the  social  order  permitted  the  indulgence  of  personal 
luxury,  gardening  was  revived  with  the  other  arts  of  antiquity, 
and  its  practice  modelled  after  the  suggestions  offered  by  the 
ruins  of  ancient  Roman  prototypes.     What  these  were  we  may 


D.   H.   HJLL  UBRARY 


The   Italian    Formal   Garden 

learn  from  descriptions  made  familiar  in  the  letters  of  Cicero 
and  Pliny.  These  i)icture  extensix  e  domains,  terraced,  g^raded, 
embanked,  halustraded,  refreshed  with  fountains,  adorned  with 
every  kind  of  edifice  for  ornament  and  rest,  and  beautified  with 
every  variety  of  foliage  of  trees,  \ines  and  shrubs.  They  pre- 
sent the  counterpart  of  almost  every  feature  characteristic  of 
the  Italian  villa  gardens  of  the  sixteenth  century.  How  com- 
plete and  perfect  the  modern  reproduction  could  be  is  evi- 
denced by  the  famous  Villa  Barberini  at  Castel  Gondolfo, 
sixteen  miles  southeast  from  Rome,  w^hich  Lanciani  considers 
not  only  the  finest  he  has  ever  seen,  "but  also  (to  quote  his 
own  words)  the  one  which  comes  nearer  than  any  other  to  the 
type  of  an  ancient  siilmrbaumu.  ...  Its  general  plan  and 
outline  follow  precisely  the  plan  and  outline  of  the  glorious 
villa  of  Domitian.  .  .  .  The  ancient  ruins,  the  foundation 
walls  of  the  huge  terraces,  the  nymphaea  and  other  remains, 
are  so  completely  concealed  and  screened  by  a  thick  growth 
of  ivy,  ferns  and  other  evergreens,  that  one  feels,  more  than 
sees,  the  antiquity  of  the  place.  B\-  a  singular  coincidence  no 
tree,  no  shrub,  no  flower,  no  bud  that  is  not  purely  classic 
seems  to  be  allowed  to  live  in  this  magnificent  domain.  No 
flower  is  allowed  to  diversify  the  emerald  green  of  the  lawns, 
except  the  classic  rose  and  violet,  and  to  make  the  illusion 
more  perfect,  flocks  of  peacocks  have  selected  the  groves  of 
this  villa  for  their  abode."  '='  The  Villa  Pia  in  the  Vatican  gar- 
dens is  another  excellent  reproduction  in  modern  dress  of  the 
Roman  conception  of  a  villa  of  modest  dimensions.  Not  only 
in  Rome,  but  scattered  also  throughout  central  Italy,  and  along 
the  Bay  of  Naples,  were  innumerable  remains  of  antique  villas, 
overgrown  with  ivy  and  weeds,  but  awaiting  only  the  touch  of 
the  artist  to  bloom  anew  in  fresh  loveliness ;  their  terrace- 
walls  and  stairs  rebuilt,  their  water  courses  and  fountains  again 
musical  with  running  water,  their  thickets  trimmed,  and  flower- 
beds once  more  blossoming  on  their  terraced  levels. 

These  ancient  gardens  were  extremely  formal.  No  plant 
was  allow^ed  to  grow  uncontrolled.  Trees  were  pruned,  clipped, 
trained  and  trimmed  into  the  semblance  of  any  and  every  form 
except  that  of  tree  :  a  species  of  art  called  topiary  ivork,  which 
was  revived  in  the  Renaissance  and  carried  to  extremes  by  the 
gardeners  of  Holland   and  England   in   the  seventeenth  and 

*  Ancient  Rome  in  the  Litjht  of  Recent  Excavations,  pp.  279-280. 


European  and  Japanese   Gardens 


The   Italian   Formal  Garden 


"^m^wi^   / 


PLAN   OF  CASINO  AND  TERRACE  OF  THE  VILLA  PIA 
Designed    by   Pirro   Ligorio,  1540 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

eighteenth  centuries.  It  is  evident  that  the  love  of  nature,  as 
nature,  for  its  own  sake,  is  a  purely  modern  sentiment,  due  in 
large  measure  to  the  influence  of  the  poets  of  the  eighteenth 
and  nineteenth  centuries.  The  ancients  regarded  nature  as  a 
servant,  not  a  mistress,  and  indulged  little  sentiment  for  nature 
in  the  abstract.  The  same  is  largely  true  of  the  Renaissance 
gardeners.  They  did  not  seek  to  counterfeit  the  meadows  and 
forests,  the  hills  and  vales  of  wild  nature  or  to  bring  trees  and 
shrubs  and  topography  into  any  semblance  of  the  picturesque 
and  accidental  combinations  of  a  natural  landscape.  Their 
gardens,  and  preeminently  those  of  Italy,  were  each  designed 
as  a  decorative  setting  to  the  palace  or  villa,  or  as  pleasure- 
grounds  in  which  what  was  most  pleasing  was  the  human  ele- 
ment— the  evidence  of  design,  symmetry,  order,  balance,  con- 
trast, ornament ;  not  the  aspect  of  natural  growth,  but  the 
evidence  of  nature  subdued  to  human  control. 


II. 

The  steps  by  which  the  Renaissance  garden,  based  upon 
these  suggestions,  reached  final  form,  I  have  been  unable  to 
trace.  No  very  early  example  remains  to  us,  at  least  in  the 
shape  in  which  it  was  designed.  With  the  progress  of  the  art 
and  changes  in  taste  the  earliergardens  must  have  all  been  made 
over,  for  a  garden  is  not,  like  a  building,  a  finality  when  once  fin- 
ished. It  changes  from  season  to  season,  and  the  growth  and 
decay  of  its  vegetation  alike  alter  its  pristine  aspect.  We 
know,  however,  that  before  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century 
the  gardens  of  Naples  were  celebrated  for  their  beauty,  for 
Charles  VIII,  of  France,  writing  in  1495  to  Pierre  de  Bourbon, 
waxes  eloquent  in  praise  of  those  which  had  come  into  his  pos- 
session in  that  city.  But  it  was  not  till  about  1540  that  any 
garden  receixed  the  form  in  which  we  know  it  to-day,  e\'en  in 
its  general  features.  The  classical  tendencies  of  architecture 
and  decoration  had  by  this  time  reached  their  highest  and  finest 
development  in  the  works  of  men  like  Peruzzi,  Antonio  da  San 
Gallo  the  Younger,  Vignola,  Giulio  Romano,  Pirro  Ligorio,  and 
others.  The  influence  of  the  taste  of  Bramante  and  Raphael 
was  still  potent,  and  the  extra\'agances  of  the  Baroque  style 
were  still  in  the  future.  The  papal  court  had  then  reached  its 
greatest  splendor,  and  Roman  society  had   begun  to  be  domi- 


The    Italian    Formal   Garden 


European   and  Japanese   Garden; 


The   Italian   Formal   Garden 

nated  by  the  great  ecclesiastical  princes  and  the  formidable 
array  of  Pope's  nephews  who  monopolized  the  higher  posts  of 
Church  and  State.  Most  of  the  finest  \illas  were  built  for  car- 
dinals and  church  dignitaries,  of  whom  the  majorit}'  sustained 
this  dubious  relation  to  the  head  of  the  Church.  The  Lante,  at 
Bagnaia,  first  built  in  1477  for  Cardinal  Riario,  was,  about  1550, 
remodelled  by  X'ignola  for  one  of  the  Farnese  nephews.  To 
this  family  also  belonged  the  imposing  castle  and  beautiful 
grounds  at  Caprarola,  also  Vignola's  work.  The  superb  Villa 
d'Este  at  Tivoli,  one  of  the  earliest  as  well  as  finest  of  extant 
works  of  the  kind,  was  designed  about  1540  by  Pirro  Ligorio, 
for  the  Cardinal  Ippolito  d'Este.  At  Frascati,  the  ancient  Tus- 
culum,  is  an  extraordinary  group  of  contiguous  villas — the 
Aldobrandini,  Falconieri,  Mandragone,  and  others,  all  built  for 
cardinal  princes  by  such  artists  as  Delia  Porta,  Giovanni  Fon- 
tana,  Olivieri,  Martino  Lunghi,  Flaminio  Ponzio,  and  others.  At 
Rome  the  Borghese  Villa,  originally  built  for  the  dukes  of 
Altemps,  was  enlarged  in  1605  by  (for)  Cafi'arelli,  nephew  of 
Paul  V ;  on  attaining  the  cardinalate  he  assumed  the  name  of 
Borghese.  The  Farnese,  Farnesina,  Pamfili  Doria,  Albani,  and 
a  dozen  others,  owe  their  existence  to  the  wealth  and  extra\a 
gance  of  these  churchly  lords.  With  the  decline  of  the  secular 
power  of  the  Church  consequent  upon  the  Reformation,  the 
social  conditions  out  of  which  these  vast  establishments  had 
grown,  slowly  passed  away ;  the  building  of  new  villas  ceased, 
and  it  has  been  only  with  the  utmost  dif^culty  that  some  of  these 
vast  and  wealth-consuming  estates  have  since  been  maintained 
in  even  tolerably  perfect  condition.  Not  a  few  have  run  to 
decay,  and  are  to-day  endowed  with  the  new  and  melancholy 
charm  of  ruin.  Nature  has  reconquered  the  domain  where 
she  was  held  captive  to  man's  caprice,  and  vines,  trees,  shrubs, 
grass  and  dust  have  done  their  best  to  obliterate  the  work  of 
human  hands.  Other  gardens  have  been  sold  under  the  ham- 
mer or  cut  up  into  building  lots,  and  there  is  no  likelihood  that 
many  new  ones  will  arise  in  their  places,  for  Italy  is  poor,  and 
there  is  no  such  concentration  of  wealth  in  strong  families  as 
to  make  probable  the  creation  of  new  splendors  of  the  kind. 
Those  that  remain  are,  therefore,  doubly  precious  ;  they  are 
unique,  for  no  modern  imitation  can  reproduce  their  antique 
charm  ;  and  nowhere  else  in  the  world  is  there  the  environ- 
ment of  atmosphere,  associations  and  art  which  envelops  these 


18 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


The   Italian    Formal   Garden 


European   Ax\d  Japanese   Garden; 


i^^  Ha  i&fli  ti'^ 


ESSENTIAL   FEATURES  OF  THE  VILIA  GARDEN" 
Plan   of  Villa    Lante  At   Bagr 


ancient  and  glorious 
estates  with  such 
loveHness  of  pros- 
pect and  setting". 

Given  the  condi- 
tions which  I  have 
tried  to  sketch,  it  is 
easy  to  understand 
the  results  that  came 
about  in  the  domain 
of  landscape  gard- 
ening. The  churchly 
patricians  who  built 
the  villas  were  no 
recluses,  seeking  the 
solitude  of  the  glens 
and  forests  to  hold 
communion  only 
with  themselves  and 
nature.  They  w^re 
the  i)owerful,  proud 
and  wealthy  leaders 
of  a  society  conspic- 
uous for  its  worldli- 
ness  and  love  of  dis- 
play. Like  true  Ital- 
ians they  loved  the 
open  air,  but  unlike 
the  lords  of  Eng- 
land and  France, 
they  had  no  taste  for 
the  chase,  and  the 
necessities  of  their 
state  precluded  their 
resorting  to  distant 
castles  embowered 
in  the  forests  or  hid- 
den in  the  gorges 
of  the  Apennines. 
It  was  to  the  villa 
that    thev    fled     for 


The   Italian    Formal   (jArden 


THIS   IS  TRUE  OF  THE  GARDENS  AS  THEY  APPEAR   TO-DAY' 


The   Palace  and  Terracing 


Villa  d'fste,  Tivoli 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

refuge.  Its  "casino,"  or  little  house,  was  less  a  residence 
than  a  pleasure-house  for  their  hours  of  relaxation  or  social 
amusement.  Its  alleys  and  terraces,  walks  and  shelters  took 
the  place  in  their  life  which  piazzas  and  "living-halls"  do 
in  ours  ;  in  them  they  passed  their  leisure,  walking  with  their 
friends,  reclining  under  the  arbors,  lulled  by  the  sound  of 
the  fountains;  reading,  meditating  and  conversing,  or  giving 


A  SOMEWHAT  PRETENTIOUS  GATEWAY' 


Entrance  to  the  Villa   Colonna 


23 


The    I  faliAxN    Formal   Garden 


PLAN   OF  THE  GARDENS 


24 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

splendid  entertainments  to  the  brilliant  companies  that 
resorted  thither.  Passionate  collectors  of  antiquities,  and 
affecting,  when  they  did  not  cherish  it,  an  enthusiasm  for 
antique  life,  they  made  their  gardens  veritable  museums, 
even  at  last,  counterfeiting  anticjue  ruins  when  they  were 
not  fortunate  enough  to  find  them  ready  at  hand  on  their 
estates.  The  villa  was  thus  no  park,  no  reserved  territory 
left  to  the  beauty  of  its  natural  wildness,  no  mere  spread  of 
lawn  diversified  with  trees  and  shrubs.  It  was  designedlv  an 
artificial  creation,  an  artistic  cnscn/b/c,  of  which  the  house  and 
the  gardens  were  distinct  and  complementary  parts,  the  whole 
treated  as  a  decorative  composition,  in  which  each  portion 
and  each  detail  played  a  definite  role.  It  was  formal  and 
artificial,  it  was  refined  and  classical  in  style  and  detail,  because 
that  was  what  the  taste  of  the  time  demanded,  and  because  no 
other  treatment  befitted  the  antique  fragments  and  sculptures 
which  formed  the  basis  of  their  adornment. 

But  these  villa  gardens,  with   all  their  formal  regularitv  of 


m^    .* 

lil^ 

M 

iKil^J 

l^^wPPP™ 

W 

'1.:           A^-"~^'" 

" 

'^^^^^^^^  '^''    ^        ^ 

^^          ^^JAJ      ^     ^—  ^W . __ 

L    ._. 

THE  JUXTAPOSITION  OF  ART  AND  NATURE 


iew  from  the  Terrace 


Villa   Pamfili   Doria 


The   Italian   Formal   Garden 

design,  were  and  are  still  so  beautiful  that  they  have  never 
ceased  to  excite  the  admiration  of  every  visitor.  They  were 
designed  by  masters,  men  of  taste  and  culture,  filled  with  the 
sense  of  beauty,  who  wrought  in  harmony  with  their  environ- 
ment and  with  the  beauties  of  the  prospect  and  atmosphere 
about  them.  However  questionable  the  taste  of  certain  deco- 
rative details,  their  general  decorative  effect  is  almost  always 


Casino,  Villa   Bopghese 


THE  CENTRAL   FEATURE  IS  THE   HOUSE  OR  CASINO' 


excellent  and  in  harmony  with  the  fanciful  and  wayward  beauty 
of  the  gardens.  At  least  this  is  true  of  the  gardens  as  they  ap- 
pear to-day,  the  crumbling  stuccoes  and  the  masonry  stained  by 
weather,  tinged  orange  and  green  by  lichens  and  mosses,  over- 
run with  ivy  and  creeping  roses,  and  contrasting  richly  with 
the  dark  green  of  the  stone  pines  behind  and  the  ilex  and 
box  in  front.  Their  charm  is  not  wholly  of  atmosphere  and 
color  and  rampant  vegetation,  nor  merely  the  romantic  half- 
melancholy  of  their  silent  walks,  their  grass-grown  terraces, 
their  whispering  pines,  and  gentle  decay.  They  possess  a  posi- 
tive artistic  beauty  in  the  proportion  and  balance  which  control 


26 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


THE  TERRACING   IS  WORTHY  OF  CAREFUL  STUDY' 


Royal  Villa  Castello 


Near  Florence 


The    Italian    Formal   Garden 

the  whole  composition.  There  is  enoui^^h  architecture — not  too 
much  ;  the  contrasts  are  ne\er  too  violent ;  sculptures  and 
decorations  are  distributed  with  a  rare  sense  of  propriety  ; 
the  water  works  are  pleasingly  \aried  and  judiciously  placed. 
Above  all,  scale  is  treated  with  consummate  skill.  A  small 
garden  is  not  designed  like  a  great  one,  nor  a  monumental 
composition  frittered  away  with  pettv  details. 


LEVEL  VILLA  ALBANI 


III. 

The  essential  features  of  the  Italian  \illa  gardens  are  easily 
stated  :  first,  the  selection  of  a  sloping  site,  cut  into  terraces 
affording  a  varied  prospect  from  their  successive  levels.  Sec- 
ondly, the  distinctly  architectural  treatment  of  conspicuous 
points  and  features  of  the  design.  Thirdly,  the  use  of  running 
water  in  fountains  and  cascades  upon  each  level  of  the  design. 
Fourthly,  the  formal  arrangement  of  flower-beds,  hedges  and 


28 


European   and  Japanese   Garden; 


THE   DECORATIONS  OF  ARCHITECTURE  AND  SCULPTURE 
Approach   to  Central    Fountain 


la    Lante,    Bagnaia 


avenues  so  as  to  provide  vistas  closed  by  decorative  structures, 
and  to  offer  at  every  turn  a  pleasing  contrast  in  the  juxtaposi- 
tion of  art  and  nature. 

PZvery  one  of  these  elements  has  its  origin  in  Roman  prac- 
tice, as  shown  not  only  by  ruins,  but  by  frescoes  in  Rome  (as 
in  the  Casino  di  Livia  on  the  Palatine)  and  Pompeii.  Each 
has  in  a  measure  been  adopted  in  the  landscape  gardening  of 
other  countries,  but  rarely  are  all  four  elements  combined  as 
they  are  in  Italy.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Italian  gardener 
rarely  or  never  employs  the  vast  levels  and  long  vistas  of 
French  gardening,  while,  in  the  treatment  of  water,  he  avoids 
the  massive  and  lofty  jets  and  immense  basins  which  distin- 
guish the  gardens  of  Versailles.  Toward  the  sloping  lawns 
and  meandering  paths  of  English  and  American  grounds  he 
feels  much  as  the  Frenchman  did  who  said,  "  Nothing  is  easier 
than  to  lay  out  an  English  garden  :  one  has  only  to  make  the 
gardener  drunk  and  then  follow  his  meanderings." 

The  typical  Italian  villa — such,  for  instance,  as  the  Villa 


The   Italian   Formal   Garden 

Lante,  at  Bagnaia,  near  Viterbo,  the  work  of  Vignola,  or  Pirro 
Ligorio's  Villa  Pia  in  the  Vatican  grounds,  at  Rome — com- 
prises a  rectangular  territory  of  a  few  acres,  rarely  more  than 
ten  or  fifteen,  its  length  twice  or  thrice  its  breadth,  and  the 
major  axis  following  the  profile  or  slope  of  the  hill  on  which  it 
is  laid  out.  It  is  divided  into  three  terraces  (rarely  two  or  four), 
each  faced  by  a  stone  retaining-wall,  surmounted  by  a  balus- 
trade, and  reached  by  broad  stairways  leading  to  the  other 
levels.  The  lower  level,  entered  from  the  street  by  a  somewhat 
pretentious  gateway,  is  the  flower-garden  proper;  on  the  middle 
level  is  the  house  or  casino,  with  the  more  important  architec- 
tural accessories,  such  as  colonnades,  loggias,  and  summer 
houses.  Behind  and  above  this,  the  third  level,  planted  wdth 
trees,  and  less  formally  treated  than  the  other  two,  furnishes  a 
shady  and  secluded  retreat,  grassy  under  foot,  leafy  overhead, 
musical  with  the  song  of  birds  and  the  trickle  of  water  in  the 


Cascade  of  Hercules 


DECORATIVE   AND   FESTAL  CHARACTER" 

At  the  Villa  d'Este  or 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

fountain.  From  the  point  of  view  of  design,  the  dense  foHage  of 
this  upper  terrace  serves  as  a  foil  and  background  for  the  more 
open  and  artificial  levels  below  it,  and  as  a  transition  to  the 
wilder  landscape  of  mountain  and  forest  behind  it. 

The  flower-garden  is  laid  out  in  geometrical  compartments 
bordered  by  square-clipped  hedges  of  box,  within  which  flowers 
and  foliage  plants  are  cultivated  in  beds  forming  elaborate 
scroll-patterns.  The  level  walks  are  of  gravel.  An  elaborate 
fountain  adorns  the  central  area,  forming  a  focus  and  point  of 
interest  for  the  whole  design.  A  high  stone  wall  surrounds  the 
garden  on  three  sides  ;  it  is  usually  covered  with  vines  or  hid- 
den by  a  profuse  growth  of  box,  yew,  ilex,  cypress,  and  pine, 
producing  an  impression  of  perfect  seclusion  with  no  oppres- 
sive display  of  prison-like  walls.  On  the  fourth  side  is  the 
retaining-wall  of  the  middle  terrace,  which  forms  a  monu- 
mental decorative  background  for  this  lower  garden,  and  a 
foundation  and  preparation  for  the  elaborately  architectural 
treatment  of  the  second  level. 

The  central  and  dominant  feature  of  the  whole  design  is 
the  house  or  casino  on  the  second  level,  on  which  it  sometimes 
advances  to  the  front  edge,  as  in  the  Pamfili  Doria,  its  base- 
ment, entered  from  the  garden,  forming  in  such  cases  the  cen- 
tral portion  of  the  terrace  wall.  Designed  chiefly  as  a  pleasure- 
house,  for  short  sojourns  and  entertainments,  its  architecture 
is  usually  of  a  festal  and  sometimes  trivial  character,  perfectly 
in  harmony  with  its  purpose,  and  almost  always  in  keeping 
with  the  fanciful,  wayward  charm  of  the  gardens.  Few  of  these 
casinos  are  commendable  as  architectural  compositions,  but 
the  softening  hand  of  time  and  the  delightful  beauty  of  the  old 
gardens,  which  improve  with  age,  impart  to  these  somewhat 
dubious  compositions  an  adventitious  charm  impossible  to 
imitate. 

In  the  Villa  Lante,  at  Bagnaia,  near  X'iterbo,  there  is  an 
interesting  departure  from  the  usual  practice.  Two  houses,  or 
casiiii,  stand  one  on  either  side  of  the  central  axis,  permitting 
an  unobstructed  axial  vista  through  the  whole  extent  of  the 
grounds,  from  top  to  bottom.  Occasionally  the  casino  is  a 
palazzo  of  considerable  size,  as  in  the  Villa  d'Este  at  Tivoli  ; 
while  in  the  cases  of  the  Pitti  palace  and  the  palace  at  Capra- 
rola  (the  Villa  Farnese),  the  entire  \illa  grounds  lie  behind  the 
residence. 


31 


The   Italian   Formal   Garden 


AIR  OF   PLAYFUL  CAPRICE' 


Fountain   of  the  Goblet' 


Villa    Farnese  at  Caprarola 


Coming  down  to  specific  details,  the  following  features 
deserve  special  attention  : 

First,  the  terracing  of  the  Italian  gardens  is  worthy  of  care- 
ful study.  Originating  in  the  preference  for  sloping  sites  by 
means  of  which  successive  and  diftering  prospects  are  secured 
from  the  various  levels,  without  interference  of  one  with  the 
other,  it  became  a  means  of  admirable  effects  within  the  gar- 
den itself.  With  its  stairs,  niches,  grottoes,  pilasters  and  balus- 
trades, it  was  studied,  proportioned  and  arranged  with  great 
care,  and  usually  with  great  success.  An  instructive  contrast 
in  the  treatment  of  the  terraces  appears  between  the  abruptly 
sloping  Villa  d'Este  at  Tivoli,  and  the  nearly  level  Villa  Albani 
or  the  Ouirinal  Gardens  at  Rome. 

Secondly,  tJie  decorations  of  architecture  and  sculpture. 
The  judicious  arrangement,  distribution,  and  scale  and  balance 
of  the  architecture  have  been  noticed  already,  and  its  j)redomi- 
nantlv  decorative  and  festal  character  alluded  to.     This  air  of 


32 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


playful  caprice  is  often  carried  to  extremes,  especially  in  the 
later  villas,  but  in  general  it  is,  and  in  its  modern  imitations  it  can 
always  be,  kept  within  the  bounds  of  good  taste,  so  that  every 
feature  shall  not  only  be  well  placed  and  pleasing  in  its  efiect, 
in  conjunction  with  the  foliage,  grass  and  flowers,  but  pleasing 
also  in  itself  as  an  architectural  design.  This  was  almost  always 
true  of  the  designs  of  Vignola,  Giulio  Romano,  and  Pirro 
Ligorio,  l)ut  not  always  of  their  successors.  There  is  some- 
times too  sharp  a  contrast  between  the  florid  stucco  decora- 
tions of  terraces  and  fountains  and  the  classic  dignity  of  the 
antique  fragments  that  adorn  many  of  the  gardens.  Based,  as 
this  style  of  gardening  is,  on  the  models  and  on  the  actual 
remains  of  ancient  Roman  estates,  it  is  most  successful  when 
its  adornments  of  architecture  and  sculpture  are  classic  in  spirit 

and  design,  a 
principle  which 
should  not  be  lost 
sight  of  in  mod- 
ern attempts  at 
this  sort  of  gar- 
dening. In  the 
Italian  examples 
the  chief  features 
claiming  atten- 
tion may  be  cata- 
logued as  follows: 
terrace  -  walls, 
balustrades  and 
stairs,  gate- ways, 
fountains,  loggias 
and  other  aedi- 
cules, exedras, 
stone  benches, 
marble    vases   on 

_  _^       _      high     pedestals, 

^."       ^'  termini,  and  stat- 

uary in  single  fig- 
ures or  groups. 
Every  one  of 
these    features    is 

PLAYFUL  CAPRICE  OFTEN   CARRIED  TO   EXTREMES"  ,    ,  j. 

Ruined  Water-cgan  Villa   d'Este.  Tivoli  Capablc      of       grCat 


33 


The   Italian    Formal   Garden 


ADORNMENTS     .     .     .     CLASSIC   IN  SPIRIT  AND   DESIGN ' 


Villa   Borghese 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

beauty  of  form,  though  requiring  less  fineness  of  execution 
than  monumental  buildings  deserve.  The  triviality  of  many 
of  the  minor  decorative  figures  and  buildings  of  actual  gardens 
in  Italy  in  execution  and  detail,  is  no  doubt  reprehensible,  but 
less  offensive  than  one  would  imagine,  because  of  their  charm- 
ing surroundings  and  the  obviousness  of  their  role,  not  as 
works  valuable  intrinsically,  but  as  mere  adjuncts  and  features 
in  the  general  scenic  efiect  of  the  whole. 

Thirdly,  the  trcatniciit  of  zvatcrm  the  fountains,  cascades 
and  basins  of  these  gardens  exemplifies  sound  principles  cor- 
rectly applied.  A  very  small  volume  of  water  is  made  to  pro- 
duce a  maximum  of  decorative  efiect,  and  the  greatest  possible 
variety  of  effects,  by  repeated  interruptions  and  changes  of  its 
movement  from  the  reservoir  above  the  upper  terrace  down  to 
the  last  fountain  basin  in  the  flower-garden.  Thrown  up  in 
small  jets,  it  is  poured  from  basin  to  basin  of  the  fountains,  in 
very   thin   but   brilliant   sheets  or  streams,  to   reappear,   after 


"A  SMALL  VOLUME  OF  WATER      .      .      .      BROKEN   AGAIN  AND  AGAIN  " 
Lante  Bagnaia 


The    Italian   Formal   Garden 


THROWN    UP  IN   SMALL  JETS  IT   IS   POURED   FROM    BASIN   TO   BASIN  " 
The   Boboli  Gardens  Florence 

passage  through  underground  conduits,  in  the  form  of  cas- 
cades, in  which  its  fall  is  broken  again  and  again  by  marble 
steps,  basins  and  rockeries,  massive  cataracts,  and  lofty  jets. 
The  roar  and  agitation  of  powerful  masses  of  water  were  rarely 
attempted  or  desired ;  they  would  have  been  out  of  scale,  so  to 
speak,  out  of  harmony  with  the  refined  elegance  of  the  gar- 
dens. Great  skill  and  taste  were  evinced  in  the  design  of  the 
architectural  and  sculptural  elements  of  these  water  works, 
which  display  generally  the  same  sense  of  proportion  and 
scale  that  has  been  already  referred  to,  and  there  is  often  a 
touch  of  the  grotesque,  of  humor  and  exaggeration  in  the 
accompanying  sculpture,  which  like  that  of  some  of  the  statues 
on  the  terraces,  enlivens  the  scene  with  a  suggestion  of 
comedy. 

Three  typical  examples  of  the  handling  of  the  water  are 
furnished  by  the  Villas  Lante  at  Bagnaia  and  d'Este  at  Tivoli, 
and  the  palace  gardens  at  Caserta.     In  the  first-named,  largely 


36 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


FOUR   SUPPORTING  FIGURES   BEARING  THE  INSIGNIA  OF  THE   FARNESE   FAMILY" 
The  Central   Fountain  Villa    Lante,   Bagnaia 


Vignola's  work,  the  amount  of  water  used  is  infinitesimal,  and 
all  the  fountains  are  treated  with  j^reat  refinement  of  detail 
and  smallness  of  scale,  while  in  the  flower-garden  the  fountain 
is  chiefly  sculptural,  with  four  supporting  figures  bearing  the 
insignia  of  the  Farnese  Family,  for  whom  it  was  built. 


37 


The   Italian   Formal   Garden 

At  Tivoli,  where  there  is  too  much  water  rather  than  not 
enoug'h,  and  where  the  upper  grades  are  very  steep  and  the  lower 
ones  very  grackial,  the  upper  terraces  of  the  ViUa  d'Este  abound 
in  monumental  fountains  and  cascades,  as  well  as  in  the  ruins 
of  innumerable  trick  fountains  and  aquatic  eccentricities  orig- 
inally designed  to  be  set  in  operation  by  the  unwitting  steps 
of  the  \isitor.  Among  them  was  formerly  a  celebrated  water 
organ,  now  ruined  and  silent.  The  central  cascade,  or  line  of 
cascades,  was  of  great  volume,  proportioned  to  the  large  scale 
of  the  whole  villa,  while  on  the  lower,  easy  gradients,  the  water 
flowed  quietly  into  and  through  great  basins,  bordered  with 
vases,  shaded  with  trees,  and  emptying  by  little  cascades  from 
one  to  the  other,  till  the  water  finally  disappeared  underground. 
Carlo  Fontana,  rightly  named,  was  the  artificer  of  these  water- 
works. Several  of  the  villas  at  Frascati,  like  the  Mondragone 
and  the  Aldobrandini,  illustrate  the  same  principles. 

At  Caserta  we  have  the  one  example  of  the  colossal  in  the 
scale  of  the  water  works  of  an  Italian  garden.  These  grounds 
were  laid  out  by  Van  Vitelli  in  1753,  after  a  sojourn  at  Paris 
and  Versailles,  where  he  had  studied  the  vast  landscape-works 
and  fountains  of  Le  Notre.  In  the  Caserta  grounds,  if  he  did 
not  better  the  instruction,  he  at  least  showed  consummate  skill 
in  the  adaptation  of  its  teachings  to  his  special  conditions, 
wholly  different  from  those  at  Versailles ;  for  the  Caserta 
grounds  are  but  one  thousand  feet  wide,  extending  back  two 
miles,  first  with  a  gentle  grade  and  then  by  a  steep  ascent 
reaching  the  summit  of  the  thickly-wooded  hill  far  behind  the 
palace.  The  water  tumbles  for  nearly  a  mile  over  a  channel 
filled  with  broken  rocks,  which  churn  it  white,  so  that  it  is 
visible  and  effective  even  when  seen  from  the  palace  two  miles 
away.  It  then  passes  through  a  succession  of  immense  basins, 
from  each  of  which  it  issues  by  a  cascade  twenty  or  thirty  feet 
high,  each  differing  essentially  from  the  others,  and  several  of 
them  adorned  with  statuary  not  always  in  the  best  taste.  The 
architectural  treatment  of  the  successive  cascades  is  ingeniously 
varied,  and  in  several  of  them  is  conspicuously  successful.  A 
strip  of  grass  two  hundred  feet  wide  on  either  side,  planted 
with  occasional  flower-beds  and  flanked  by  wonderfully  beauti- 
ful ilex  avenues  next  the  side  walls  of  the  grounds,  completes 
the  simple  but  effective  plan  of  the  gardens.  Here  the  water 
is  purposely  handled  on  a  colossal  scale,  suited  to  the  great 


38 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


The   Italian    Formal   Garden 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


A  CHANNEL    FILLED  WITH    BROKEN    ROCKS' 
Upper  Cascade  and   Actaeon   Group 


The    Italian   Formal   Garden 


THE  SIMPLE   BUT   EFFECTIVE   PLAN   OF  THE  GARDENS' 


General   View  of  Av 


length  of  the  grounds  and  to  the  vast  size  of  the  palace.  It 
is  a  royal  park,  not  a  private  citizen's  garden. 

Fourthly,  the  tycatinent  of  the  trees  and  grass  is  also  char- 
acteristic of  the  Italian  gardens.  The  American  and  English 
styles  of  park  gardening,  with  broadly-sloping  lawns  sprinkled 
over  with  clumps  of  shrubbery  and  groups  of  trees,  in  a  stud- 
iedly accidental  and  picturesque  arrangement,  with  winding 
walks  and  drives  giving  the  sense  of  distance  and  ever-chang- 
ing prospect,  is  not  practised  in  the  villa  gardens,  because 
it  represents  a  wholly  different  conception  of  purpose  and 
function  from  that  which  created  them.  Occasionally,  as  in 
parts  of  the  Borghese  grounds,  one  finds  broad  meadows, 
sloping  lawns,  and  a  natural  or  artificial  wild-wood,  but  it  is  in 
most  cases  sharply  distinguished  from  the  formal  part  of  the 
grounds,  in  which  there  is  no  mixing  of  the  two  sorts  of 
gardening. 

Trees  are  used  chiefly  in  two  ways — first  on  the  upper  ter- 
race and  around  the  outskirts  of  the  formal  garden,  to  serve  as 
a  picturesque  background  silhouetted  with  its  stone  pines  and 


42 


European 


AND 


Japanese   Gardens 


cypresses  or  poplars  against  the  sky,  and  contrasting  in  tiie 
purple  darkness  of  its  evergreen  foliage  with  the  lighter  and 
gayer  colors  of  the  bright,  sun-bathed  architecture  and  garden 
walls.  These  trees  furnish  shade,  coolness  and  repose,  and 
in  the  older  gardens  they  are  sometimes  of  enormous  size. 
Secondly,  they  are  used  to  form  a\enues  where  the  grounds 
are  sufficiently  extensive,  as  in  the  Pamfili  Doria  Villa,  the  Villa 
d'Este,  or  the  Mattel  Villa.  Thirdly,  at  specified  points  in  the 
flower-garden,  or  even   on  the   second   terrace,  to  relieve  the 


THE  TREATMENT  OF  TREES   IS  CHARACTERISTIC" 
Avenue  of  the  Villa    Borghese  Rome 

formality,  flatness  or  brilliancy  of  the  parterres,  gravel  walks, 
and  marble  pavements.  The  trees  most  in  use  are  the  stone 
pine,  poplar  and  cypress,  for  the  more  massive  eftects  ;  palm 
trees  occasionally  for  isolated  points  of  interest,  and  the  ilex,  box 
and  yew  for  hedges  and  for  the  smaller  avenues ;  these  last 
three  being  well  adapted  for  topiary-work  or  tree-clipping  on 
account  of  their  fine  and  very  dense  foliage.  The  stone  pine 
with  its  straight  trunk  and  dignified  outline,  with  its  dark  and 


43 


The   Italian    Formal   Garden 


European   and   Japanese   Gardens 

spreading  top,  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  and  decorative 
of  all  trees  for  backgrounds  and  large  efltects.  The  oak  and 
chestnut  also  abound  on  the  upper  terraces  of  Italian  grounds 
and  in  those  wilder  portions  of  wooded  land  which  sometimes 
surround  the  formal  garden.  The  ilex  is  a  low  shrub-like  tree, 
of  very  slow  growth  but  dense  foliage,  admirably  suited  for 
those  tunnel-like  walks  forming  long,  natural  arbors,  which  in 


■wmkMrvistmF: 


CYPRESSES  SILHOUETTED   AGAINST  THE  SKY" 


The  Central    Fountain 


Villa   Albani,    Ror 


the  Boboli  and  other  gardens  are  so  delightful  and  restful  a 
resort. 

Closely  cropped  grass  is  used  only  as  an  accessory  feature 
in  the  Italian  formal  gardens.  The  lawn,  for  its  own  sake, 
rarely  figures  in  the  Italian  designs  except  in  those  large,  pub- 
lic parks,  which,  like  the  Giardino  Pincio  and  the  Borghese 
gardens  at  Rome,  serve  a  function  like  that  of  our  city  parks. 
The  nearest  approach  to  the  lawn  per  se  in  the  villas  is  in  the 
grassy  amphitheatres  of  some  of  the  larger  gardens  like  the 


45 


The   Italian    Formal   Garden 


European  and  Japanese  Gardens 

Boboli  at  Florence,  belonging  to  the  Pitti  Palace,  and  the 
Borghese  at  Rome.  These  were  terraced  to  afford  an  arena 
and  open-air  seating  for  athletic  sports  and  mummeries  in  the 
olden  time,  and  may  not  always  haxe  been  covered  with  grass, 
but  they  are  very  beautiful  in  their  present  condition  of  refresh- 
ing greenness. 

IV. 

The  garden,  thus  treated,  was,  as  I   have   said,  designed 
under  special  conditions  and  for  a  particular  purpose.     It  was 


WHERE  THE  GROUNDS  ARE  SUFFICIENTLY   EXTENSIVE' 


The  Boboli  Gardens 


intended  first  as  the  decorative  setting  for  the  social  as  well  as 
private  life  of  a  very  rich,  worldly  and  splendor-loving  aris- 
tocracy ;  secondly,  as  an  approach  and  environment  for  the 
palace,  villa  or  casino  of  the  proprietor,  with  which  it  must  form 
an  artistically  congruous  whole.  It  is  evident  that  there  could 
be  here  no  question  of  rivalry  with  other  kinds  of  gardens.     The 


47 


The   Italian    Formal   Garden 

vast  park,  with  its  drixes  for  iiorseback  riding,  its  brooks  and 
bridges,  its  covers  for  game,  its  preserves  for  deer,  all  that 
was  peculiar  and  essential  to  the  life  of  the  English  or  French 
nobleman,  was  wholly  out  of  the  question  here.  All  the  ideas 
and  conceptions  of  landscape  gardening  which,  inherited  from 
our  English  and  French  ancestors,  we  have  derived  from  their 
ideal  of  the  forest  park,  with  its  vast  expanses  of  grass,  thickets 
and  trees,  trimmed  out  and  smoothed  down  b}'  the  gardener's 
care,  and  extended  by  art  over  other  expanses  at  first  destitute 


LONG   NATURAL   ARBORS' 


The   Boboli   Gardens,   Florence 


of  shade  or  wanting  in  natural  picturesc|ueness — these  ideals 
and  conceptions  were,  perforce,  excluded  from  the  problem  of 
villa  design.  The  two  kinds  of  gardening  serve  diflierent  pur- 
poses and  belong  to  different  conditions.  Each  has  its  own 
beauty,  each  is  perfectly  legitimate  ;  both  systems  alike  com- 
pel nature  to  do  the  designer's  bidding,  both  involve  the  re- 
modeling of  the  earth's  surface,  the  destruction  of  some  of 
nature's  productions,  the  recreation  or  substitution  of  others. 
But  they  proceed  upon  dift'erent  lines,  by  difterent  methods, 


48 


European   and  Japanese   Gardei 


The   Italian    Formal   Garden 


Lu-iiU  wt 


_J"^^ 


A'] 


QlnaiiaaiiBflj 


m  ill)  i  I  111 
0 J  ffl  |0J^  ^.9 


] 


toward  different  results.  As  an  abstract  and  academic  ques- 
tion, controversy  as  to  their  relative  merits  is  without  signifi- 
cance  or  reason.     Such   discussion   has  its  place  only  where 

specific  prob- 
lems are  pre- 
sented for  solu- 
tion. It  is,  of 
course,  open 
to  question, 
whether,  u]3on 
the  site  and 
within  the  lim- 
its of  Mr.  A.'s 
property,  or 
with  the  sum 
which  Mr.  B. 
puts  at  the 
landscape  gar- 
dener's dispo- 
sal, or  in  the 
climate  and 
with  the  partic- 
ular surround- 
ings of  Mr.  C.'s 
estate,  a  formal 
or  a  pictur- 
esque treat- 
ment will  be 
best.  I  hold  no 
brief  for  the  Ital- 
ian formal  gar- 
den as  against 
the  park  and 
wild -wood.  I 
have  simply 
tried  to  set 
forth  the  con- 
ditions under  which  it  came  into  being,  the  artistic  principles 
which  controlled  its  design,  and  some  of  the  methods  and 
devices  which  produced  the  results  attained.  Some  of  the 
errors  and  defects  of  these  methods  I  have  suggested  ;  others 
are  patent  to'  every  observer. 


fS 


PLAN   OF  THE  VILLA   MEDICI   GARDENS 
Rome 


50 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

It  is  manifest  that  any  attempt  at  a  detailed  reproduc- 
tion in  this  country  of  the  exact  dispositions  of  any  given  ItaHan 
villa  would  be  pedantic  and  irrational,  if  not  absurd,  because  of 
wide  divergences  of  condition,  climate,  life  and  environment. 
But  it  is  not  irrational  to  study  the  principles  and  methods  of 
this  highly  developed  art,  and  to  adapt  to  our  own  con- 
ditions such  of  those  principles  and  methods  as   lend   them- 


v*^?^ 


.^-f -i-'i  --j'*'.  ''"i'^    fv 


ORTI    FARNESIANI    IFARNESE  GARDENSI  ROME 

I  Demolished  I — Section  and   Perspective 

selves  readily  and  artistically  to  those  conditions.  One  or 
two  cautions  are,  however,  necessary.  One  should  never 
forget,  for  instance,  that  many  elements  in  the  present  aspect 
of  these  gardens  are  adventitious  and  wholly  unforeseen  in  the 
original  design,  and  that  such  as  are  due  to  the  action  of  time 
and  weather  cannot  be  imitated  or  reproduced.  Trees  persist 
in  growing,  so  do  hedges.     Masonry  persists  in   crumbling  ; 


The   Italian   Formal   Garden 

gardeners  will  undo  their  predecessors'  work,  and  not  a  garden 
looks  in  1900  precisely  as  it  did  in  1600.  One  should  also  dis- 
criminate carefully  between  the  composition  and  the  details  of 
a  design,  since  one  may  be  excellent  and  the  other  very  infe- 
rior. There  is  no  one  recipe  or  model  for  the  Italian  garden  ; 
differences  of  site  and  size  and  environment  have  resulted  in  a 
marvelous  variety  of  actual  designs,  in  spite  of  the  uniformity 
of  their  controlling  elements,  and  the  problem  of  any  given 


AN   APPROACH   AND   ENVIRONMENT   FOR   THE    PALACE' 


Rear  of  Pitti   Palace 


Boboli   Garder 


site  offers  the  widest  opportunity  for  variety  both  of  scheme 
and  of  detail,  and  for  the  exercise  of  good  taste  and  discrimi- 
nation.    No  formula  can  take  the  place  of  good  taste. 

V. 

A  few  words  are  now  in  order  as  to  the  location  of  the 
most  important  examples  of  this  art.  They  are  naturally  to  be 
found  in  greatest  number  in  or  near  Rome,  the  seat  of  the  lux- 


52 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


ENTRANCE   GATE    OF  THE   VILLA    ALBANI 


urious  Papal  court  and  aristocracy  of  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries.  Within  the  walls,  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
city,  and  adjacent  to  the  Passeggio  Pubblico  or  Pincian  gardens, 
is  the  Mlla  Medici,  overlooking  the  walls  into  the  Borghese 
Villa,  which  spreads  its  vast  expanse  northwards  into  the  sub- 
urbs, and  commanding  westwards  a  marvelous  prospect  of  the 
city  and  of  the  glorious  dome  of  St.  Peter's  across  the  ri\er  a 
couple  of  miles  away.  The  Villa  Torlonia  is  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  city,  next  the  Porta  Pia.  The  Ouirinal  Hill  is 
largely  occupied  by  the  royal  palace  and  gardens,  the  latter 
very  extensive  and  beautiful,  but  too  flat  and  uniform  to  cap- 
tivate the  beholder  as  do  some  of  the  other  gardens.  The  cen- 
tral zone  of  the  city  contains  no  important  gardens  on  the  cis- 
tiberine  side  except  the  Piazza  \'ittorio  Emanuele  and  the 
Botanical  Gardens  ;  the  southern  zone  boasts  the  \' ilia  Mattel 
(now,  I  believe,  the  property  of  an  American,  the  Count  Hoff- 
mann), a  villa  full  of  the  restful  charm  of  antiquity,  though  it 
has  suffered  from  modern  alterations.     The  finest  Roman  villas 


53 


The   Italian    Formal   Garden 

lie  either  on  the  hillsides — r.  ^i,":,  the  Villa  Pia  and  the  Vatican 
Gardens,  the  V^illa  Barberini — now  greatly  altered,  I  under- 
stand, from  its  j)ristine  state  and  used  as  an  insane  asylum — 
close  to  St.  Peter's ;  the  Villas  Lante  and  Corsini,  conti^^uous 
to  the  public  parkway  of  the  Passeggiata  Margherita  ;  or  out- 
side the  walls,  like  the  immense  Villa  Pamfili  Doria,  outside 
the  Porta  S,  Pancrazio  ;  the  Villa  Borghese,  also  of  vast  extent, 
and,  like  the  Pamfili  Doria,  comprising  both  picturesque  parks 
with  winding  drives  and  the  formal  gardening  I  have  been  de- 
scribing ;  and  the  magnificent  Villa  Albani,  the  most  formal 
and  monumental  of  all  the  Roman  gardens,  near  the  Porta 
Salaria. 


Blli.,:jB 


THE  ONE  AT  TIVOLI 


the  Villa   d'Este 


54 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


ONE  OF       THE    REMARKABLE  GROUP  AT   FRASCATI 
Plan   of  the  Villa   Aldobrandini 


The   Italian    Formal   Garden 


STRIKING  VISTAS  AND   MONUMENTAL   EFFECTS' 


The  Chateau   d'Eau 


Villa   Aldobrandi 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


WATER  WORKS 
Ha  Torlonia-Conti 


UNUSUALLY   ELABORATE  AND   EFFECTIVE' 


Two  other  groups  of  villas  are  of  easy  access  from  Rome  : 
those  at  Tivoli,  or  rather  the  one  at  Tivoli — the  Villa  d'Este, 
and  the  remarkable  group  at  Frascati,  comprising  the  Aldo- 
brandini,    Falconieri,   Muti,   Conti,   Mondragone,  and   others : 


57 


The   Italian   Formal   Garden 


FOREMOST  IS  THE   BOBOLI   GARDEN' 


The  Hill  Walk 


Boboli  Garden,   Florence 


European  and  Japanese  Gardens 


"stretches  along  the   LAKESIDE' 


Lake   Maggiore 


while  at  Castel  Gondolfo  is  the  beautiful  Villa  Barberini,  which 
reproduces  the  arrangements  and  aspect  of  the  ancient  villa  of 
Domitian.  All  these  villas  among  the  Alban  hills  differ  radi- 
cally from  those  at  Rome  in  tw^o  respects.  The  house  is  not  a 
mere  "  casino,"  but  a  permanent  residence  or  palazzo,  and  the 
abrupt  slopes  of  the  hillsides  give  opportunities  which  are 
skilfully  availed  of,  for  striking  vistas  and  monumental  effects. 
Owing  to  the  abundant  mountain  streams,  the  water  works  in 
these  gardens  are  unusually  elaborate  and  effective. 

Further  away  from  Rome  is  the  hill  on  which  stands 
Caprarola,  with  the  imposing  pentagonal  palace  and  the  beau- 
tiful gardens  of  the  Farnesi,  built  from  Yignola's  designs  ;  and 
a  few  miles  further  yet,  the  Villa  Lante  at  Bagnaia,  near  Viterbo, 
one  of  the  most  perfect  and  typical  of  Italian  villas. 

Florence  is  naturally  the  center  of  another  group  of  villas, 
erected  either  by  the  Medici  or  by  grandees  of  the  Medi- 
cean  court.     Foremost  is  the  Boboli  garden  belonging  to  the 


59 


The   Italian    Formal   Garden 


WALL   FOUNTAIN    BY  CARLO   RAINALDI 


Villa   Borghese 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

Pitti  Palace,  just  without  the  Porta  Romana ;  a  garden  of  vast 
dimensions,  with  less  of  architectural  interest  than  most  large 
palace  or  villa  gardens,  but  possessing  many  features  of  great 
beauty.  At  Poggio  a  Cajano  is  a  villa  dating  from  the  early 
sixteenth  century,  with  a  fine  old  park.  A  little  further  from 
Florence  is  the  Villa  Medicea  in  Careggi,  once  the  property  of 
the  Dukes  of  Tuscany,  and  dating  from  1460,  but  (I  believe) 
without  important  gardens.  Still  further  to  the  northwest  is 
the  Villa  Petraia,  and  west  of  it  the  Villa  Castello,  both  now 
belonging  to  the  crown,  and  having  very  elaborate  and  beau- 
tiful gardens,  which  are  well  worthy  of  a  visit.  Another  Me- 
dicean  villa  near  by,  the  Quarto,  with  a  fine  garden,  belongs  to 
the  Stroganoff  family.  One  or  two  other  villas  are  to  be  seen 
on  the  way  to  Fiesole.  The  fine  Villa  Poggio  Imperiale,  dat- 
ing from  1622,  is  now  a  girls'  school  and  not  open  to  the  pub- 
lic. At  Genoa  are  no  villas  of  the  first  importance,  nor  do  I 
know  of  examples  elsewhere  in  Italy  comparable  with  those 
hitherto  mentioned,  either  in  historic  or  artistic  interest,  except 
the  Caserta  palace  gardens  already  mentioned. 

There  are,  however,  both  in  Northern  Italy,  especially 
near  Genoa  and  about  Lake  Como,  and  in  Southern  Italy  in 
the  vicinity  of  Naples,  many  villas  of  the  second  rank,  some 
of  quite  modern  date,  others  dating  from  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries.  These,  in  their  measure,  embody  the 
same  principles  and  possess  a  like  charm  with  those  of  which 
I  have  gi\en  some  account  in  and  near  Rome.  The  difterence 
is  in  degree  rather  than  in  kind. 

I  have  discussed  only  the  Italian  villa,  because  it  is  the 
most  monumental  and  characteristic  form  of  the  Italian  gar- 
den. There  are  thousands  of  public  and  private  parks  and  gar- 
dens which,  owing  to  different  controlling  conditions  and  to  the 
influence  of  English  and  French  models,  depart  radically  from 
the  formal  villa-type.  Long,  narrow  stretches  along  the  river- 
side or  lakeside,  small  areas  surrounding  railway  stations,  open 
squares  in  the  cities,  demand  a  difterent  handling  from  that  I 
have  described.  In  these  we  meet  with  both  good  and  bad 
examples,  but  most  of  them  are  delightful,  if  for  no  other  rea- 
son, because  of  the  brilliance  of  the  grass  and  of  the  flowers 
and  foliage  plants,  and  because  of  the  lovely  atmosphere  and 
surroundings  of  the  scene.  Everywhere  is  water — in  jets  or 
cascades,  and  always  with   architectural  accompaniments  and 


The   Italian   Formal   Garden 

decorative  sculpture,  not  always  ^^ood  but  seldom  offensive, 
and  sometimes  meritorious,  the  shores  of  Lake  Como,  the 
Cascine  at  Florence,  the  Chiaja  at  Naples,  are  familiar  to  every 
tourist,  and  serve  to  call  up  memories  of  delight.  But  these 
do  not  fall  within  the  cate^^ory  to  which  I  have  preferred  to 
confine  mvself. 


HILLSIDE  GARDENS   NEAR    NAPLES 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


DETAIL  OF  THE  STAIRWAY 


Gardens  of  the  Villa   Corse 


(See   Frontispiece) 


ENGLISH    GARDENS 

By   R.    Clipston   Sturgis 


lEW   FROM    MONTECUTE   HOUSE 


ENGLISH    GARDENS' 

By  R.    CLIPSTON   STURGIS 

FELLOW   OF   THE   AMERICAN    INJIITUTE   OF   ARCHITEC'I 


AS  with  English  architecture  the  chief  interest  centers 
about  the  simpler  work,  the  homely  quality  of  which  di- 
^  rectly  appeals  to  one,  so  the  smaller  and  less  pretentious 
English  gardens  seem  in  every  way  most  perfect.  There  one 
finds  no  question  of  the  rival  claims  of  formal  and  informal 
school,  of  Italian,  French  or  English  styles,  but  merely  a  nat- 
ural common-sense  adaptation  of  means  to  an  end,  a  direct 
meeting  of  needs.  In  the  great  Italian  and  French  gardens 
one  feels  the  presence  of  a  complete  and  studied  scheme,  and 
also  of  a  conscious  effort  for  effect.  As  exponents  of  the  art 
and  science  of  landscape  gardening,  French  and  Italian  ex- 
amples are  distinctly  superior  to  the  English  ;  but  for  mere, 
lovable  beauty  fitting  the  needs  of  true  country-lovers,  nothing 
can  approach  the  English  garden. 

In  many  periods  of  English  gardening  the  influence  of 
foreign  styles  and  fashions  has  been  felt,  and  has  to  a  certain 
extent  modified  the  planning  and  planting  of  grounds;  but 
except  in  those  places  which  have  attempted  grandeur,  one 
finds  no  purely  scholastic  work.  The  earliest  work  of  which 
we  have  any  perfect  knowledge  is  that  which  was  influenced 
by  the  Italian  Renaissance.  When  Inigo  Jones  and  Sir  Chris- 
topher Wren  introduced  the  balance  of  classic  planning  and 
the  detail  of  classic  work,  the  gardens  develo]3ed  on  similar 
lines.  This  period  gave  us  the  formal  terrace,  the  walled  gar- 
dens, the  bowling-greens,  the  clipped  hedges,  and  the  intelli- 
gent use  of  architectural  accessories  which  mark  the  majority 
of  good  English  gardens.     The  general  character  of  this  work 

'  This  article  was  a  paper  jirepared  merely  for  a  short  address  to  fellow  architects  and 
makes  no  pretense  to  anything  hut  the  most  cursory  survey  of  this  most  delightful  and 
inexhaustible  study.  The  article  was  not  written  with  a  view  to  being  illustrated,  so  that 
the  photographs  now  published  do  not  bear  any  very  close  relation  to  the  text.  It  is  hoped, 
however,  that  they  may  give  some  idea,  clearer  than  I  can  convey  in  words,  of  the  charm 
of  the   English  work. 


67 


English   Gardens 

remained  practically  unchanged  tor  a  couple  ot  centuries. 
With  the  beginning  of  this  century,  when  taste  in  architecture 
and  art  was  distinctly  declining  towards  its  final  depth  in  the 
thirties,  there  came  first,  a  carelessness  for  the  beauty  of  the 
old  gardens,  which  resulted  in  neglect ;  and  then  the  period 
when,  under  the  guidance  of  Brown,  the  imitation  of  nature 
and  the  making  of  pictures  was  the  aim  everywhere.  This 
resulted  not  only  in  the  destruction  of  many  fine  gardens,  but 


TERRACE  AT  MONTECUTE 


in  a  general  perversion  of  taste  which  it  has  taken  many  years 
to  counteract. 

The  reaction  from  Brown's  hopeless  endeavor  to  imitate 
nature  and  to  avoid  everything  pertaining  to  formality  was 
very  quick,  and  yet  it  is  indicative  of  the  English  temper  that 
it  was  not  a  violent  swing  of  the  pendulum  to  the  other  ex- 
treme. Kemp,  writing  between  fifty  and  sixty,  laid  down  rules, 
or  rather  suggested  principles  which  seem  thoroughly  sound 
and  sensible.     He  urged  the  necessity  for  formal  treatment  in 


68 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


ExNGLisH   Gardens 


DOUBLE-BORDERED   PAT^ 


and  about  the  house,  and  yet  valued  the  freer  and  more  natural 
possibilities  which  were  unaffected  by  the  immediate  proximity 
of  architecture.  He  deprecated  the  imitation  of  nature  and 
made  a  strong  plea  for  retainintr  "  art,"  by  which  he  meant  any- 
thing of  a  formal  or  studied  nature.  Simplicity,  convenience, 
seclusion  were  amoni^  his  chief  aims,  and  it  is  characteristic  of 
the  Englishman,  that,  in  enumerating  the  things  which  require 
consideration  when  planning  the  grounds,  he  named  economy 
first.  By  this  he  would  include  not  merely  making  the  plan 
on  such  a  scale  that  the  owner  could  afford  to  lay  it  out,  but 
he  would  consider  also  the  cost  of  maintenance,  and  still  fur- 
ther, the  arrangement  of  the  place  so  that  the  maintenance 
could  be  done  with  economy.  This  is  a  matter  of  great  im- 
portance, and  to  its  just  consideration  is  due  to  a  large  extent 
the  number  and   beautv  of   the   English   gardens.     As  a  rule 


70 


European  and  Japanese  Gardens 

work  is  not  laid  out  or  undertaken  which  cannot  l^e  easily  exe- 
cuted and  maintained  without  taxing  the  resources  of  the 
owner. 

With  the  English,  gardening  is  so  old  an  art  that  the  cost 
of  maintaining  can  be  as  readily  estimated  beforehand  as  can 
the  cost  of  the  execution.  Tradition,  habit,  social  custom  have 
all  combined  to  fix  the  lines  on  which  work  shall  be  conducted, 
and  thus  to  make  a  standard  of  "form"  used  in  the  athletic  sense, 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  service  of  the  house,  the  stable,  and 
the  grounds.  If  a  man  can  afford  but  three  servants,  his  house 
is  arranged  on  the  basis  of  what  three  servants  can  do  thor- 
oughly well,  and  he  will  not  have  a  larger  house  unless  he  can 
afford  to  have  his  service  adequate.  His  stable  will  be  regu- 
lated with  equal  care.  He  will  have  only  such  horses  and  car- 
riages as  can  be  kept  in  first-rate  condition.  Applying  these 
same  principles  to  the  garden,  collecting  and  making  use  of 
the  cumulative  experience  of  many  generations  of  gardeners, 
he  lays  out  his  ground  with  clear  foresight  as  to  its  mainte- 
nance.    Nothing  is  to  be  slovenly,  nothing  neglected.     The 


A  GARDEN  BACKED  WITH  TREES 


English   Gardens 


European  and  Japanese  Gardens 


SHADED  WALK  AT  FRANKLEIGH 


results  amply  justify  this  course.  The  thoroughness  of  the 
Eng-Hsh  garden  is  the  very  root  of  its  charm.  The  garden, 
whether  large  or  small,  shows  care  in  every  part,  and  not  only 
care,  but  generally  the  loving  care  of  the  man  who  is  really 
fond  of  his  garden  as  a  whole,  and  of  his  plants  individually. 
One  cannot  go  through  a  garden  with  the  owner  or  his  gar- 
dener without  feeling  that  to  them  the  garden  is  as  intimate  as 
the  house. 

The  whole  attitude  of  mind  of  the  Englishman  is  the  de- 
sire to  satisfy  a  need  rather  than  to  supply  a  luxury,  and  there- 
fore this  is  generally  found  to  be  the  chief  motive  in  the  laying 
out  of  his  garden.  The  great  majority  of  English  gardens 
have  developed  in  direct  response  to  practical  needs,  and  if  one 
studies  these  needs  and  sees  how  they  have  been  met,  the  his- 
tory of  nine-tenths  of  the  English  gardens  is  given.  The 
needs  of  the  house  are  approaches  and  courts  or  yards. 
The  main  approach  is  for  the  convenience  of  the  family 
and  their  guests ;  it  is  not  considered  as  a  portion  of  the 
grounds  especially  desirable  as  an  outlook.  The  chief  living 
rooms  are  where  aspect  and  outlook  are  most  favorable ; 
so  that  the  entrance  hall  is  naturally  given  the  less  desirable 


•Ji 


English   Gardens 

aspect.  On  this  account,  if  tor  no  other,  the  immediate  ap- 
proach to  the  house  is  not  so  capable  as  other  places  of  being 
made  livable.  Considerations  of  utility  are  therefore  paramount. 
If  it  is  a  carriage  entrance,  a  short  drive  and  a  convenient  turn 
are  the  things  sought.  This  has  resulted  in  a  number  of  types 
of  which  the  most  familiar  are  the  simple  in-and-out  on 
different  lines,  and  the  straight  drive  finishing  in  a  circle. 
Both  these  lend  themselves  readily  to  a  formal  treatment, 
and  trees  planted  regularly,  hedges  or  walls  give  an  element 
of  style  to  the  simplest  of  plans.  The  kitchen  approach  is  even 
more  utilitarian  ;  the  chief  object  being  to  keep  it  separate  from 
the  master's  approach  and  screened  from  view.  The  most 
direct  approach  is  the  simplest  of  turns  ;  privacy  is  obtained 
by  walls,  fences,  hedges,  or,  in  the  case  of  basement  offices,  by 
sinking  the  road  below  the  general  grade. 

The  formal  planning  of  the  early  seventeenth  century, 
which  developed  the  H  and  E  plans,  suggested  the  partial  or 
complete  enclosing  of  the  two  approaches.  It  reproduced  in 
more  regular  form  the  early  forecourt  and  basecourt.  The  for- 
mer name  is  still  generally  in  use,  the  latter  is  more  generally 
referred  to  as  kitchen-court.  The  forecourt  became  at  once  an 
interesting  feature  of  the  plan,  but  never  lost  its  true  status.     It 


A  WALK   BEFORE  THE   HOUSE 


74 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


English   Gardens 

was  always  the  approach  and  never  a  place  to  idle  or  take 
pleasure  in.  Its  beauties  are  such  as  can  be  readily  appre- 
hended at  a  g"lance.  One  finds  none  of  those  hidden  nooks, 
and  unsuspected  charms,  which  are  incidental  to  the  garden. 
A  simple  piece  of  greensward,  a  few  trees,  possibly  such  statu- 
ary or  vases  as  will  tell  at  a  comparative  distance  and  can  be 
comprehended  in  a  glance, — these  are  the  general  features  of 
forecourts.  Sometimes,  but  rarely,  one  finds  paved  forecourts, 
but  this  is  unusual,  and  the  English  are  more  apt  to  reduce 
their  pavement  or  gravel  to  the  smallest  dimensions  rather 
than  increase  it  unnecessarily. 

The  kitchen-court  is  entirely  for  the  use  of  the  trades-peo- 
ple and  for  the  accommodation  of  the  kitchen  service.  It  may 
sometimes  serve  as  a  drying-yard,  though  this  is  generally  sep- 
arate. It  is  therefore  paved  or  gravelled  throughout  to  be  dry 
under  foot  and  to  allow  the  free  handling  of  wagons.  It  is  the 
noisy  and  disagreeable  part  of  the  establishment,  and  it  is  con- 
sidered essential  that  it  should  be  removed  as  far  as  possible 


GARDEN  CORNER 


76 


European  and  Japanese  Gardens 


BOX-BORDERED  BEDS 

from  the  main  house  and  as  much  shut  off  as  may  be.  House- 
hold service  is  brought  to  much  greater  perfection  in  England 
than  in  this  country,  so  that  distances,  which  to  an  American 
housekeeper  would  seem  impossible,  are  deliberately  planned 
for,  that  offices  and  service-yards  may  be  out  of  sight,  smell 
and  hearing.  Generally  the  kitchen-court  is  shut  off  by  part 
of  the  house  itself,  and  if  this  is  not  possible,  it  is  screened  by 
high  walls.  The  drying-ground  is  generally  more  open  and 
sunny,  and  not  infrequently  clothes  are  dried  on  the  ground 
instead  of  hung  on  a  line  ;  so  that  the  drying-ground  may  be  a 
pleasant  piece  of  turf,  not  unsightly  even  when  covered'  with 
white  linen.  Thus  in  meeting  the  need  of  approaches  to  the 
house  the  two  courts  are  developed. 

Before  taking  up  in  detail  the  needs  which  decide  the 
character  of  the  grounds  more  removed  from  the  house,  it  will 
be  well  to  point  out  that  the  English  invariably  carry  into  their 


77 


English   Gardens 


A  SMALL    HOUSE-COURT 


78 


European  and  Japanese  Gardens 


A   BROAD  WALK  TO  THE   HOUSE 


grounds  the  same  desire  for  privacy  and  separation  which  is 
noticeable  in  the  house.  The  careful  separation  of  the  kitchen 
and  offices  from  the  master's  quarters  has  already  been  re- 
marked, and  a  similar  separation  is  to  be  found  between 
other  parts  of  the  household  and  between  individual  rooms. 
The  nurseries  are  apart ;  the  master's  own  rooms  are  apart ; 
the  guest-rooms  are  apart ;  and  finally,  except  in  suites  of 
rooms  used  only  for  entertainment,  the  individual  rooms  are 
well  divided  from  each  other.  This  same  principle  underlies  the 
garden  plan.  The  place  is  considered  as  an  outdoor  house. 
The  grounds  are  divided  up  according  to  their  use,  and  each 
portion  has  its  well-established  boundaries. 

In  a  place  of  even  an  acre  or  two  the  first  consideration  is 
what  can  be  got  from  the  land  in  the  way  of  actual  return,  and 
the  space  for  a  kitchen-garden  is  almost  the  first  consideration. 
The  demands  of  pleasure  may  march  side  by  side  with  this 
utilitarian  requirement,  but  it  is  very  rare  to  find  a  man  laying 


79 


English   Gardens 


THE  MORE  FORMAL  GARDEN 


out  liis  place  with  no  thought  of  anything  but  beauty  and  pas- 
time. One  may  therefore  be  justified  in  considering  the 
kitchen-garden  as  the  most  prominent  necessity  after  the 
approaches.  This  garden  must  be  near  the  liouse  and  near 
the  kitchen  and  the  gardener's  house,  and  yet  not  too  evident. 
It  is  never,  however,  treated  as  an  unsightly  part  of  the  estab- 
lishment ;  and,  indeed,  there  are  manv  kitchen-gardens  which 


80 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


yMHA  f  1 

mS^^^B^^ 

I^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^ 

^^ 

■-tm-^" 

-:.mJ^..:.:-..---.. 

a.pr;^%^r:-         , 

.     ^P«  ■     w^S^?^ 

•.•••.-V-' 

_^^^^^^^P^.^^---              ...V, 

Ji 

^ 

HBB^'. 

THE  GARDEN   WALK 


are  quite  delightful  spots  in  which  to  ramble.  A  garden  at 
Wells  has  dwarf  espalier  apples  bordering  its  path,  beautiful 
fruit  trees  on  its  fine  old  walls,  standard  roses  marking  the 
lines  of  some  of  its  paths,  and  the  flowers  and  fruit  are  helped, 
rather  than  hurt,  by  the  peas  and  beans,  the  splendid  blue- 
green  of  the  cabbage  tribe,  and  the  rich  brown  of  the  turned- 
over  soil.  As  the  kitchen-garden  is  to  be  an  apartment  by 
itself,  as  it  were,  it  is  bounded,  and  at  the  same  time  pro- 
tected, by  walls.  Large  gardens  would  be  subdivided,  and  one 
might  find  separate  gardens  for  herbs,  for  small  fruits,  for  roots 
and  for  the  more  quickly  growing  crops,  such  as  beans  and 
peas.  The  necessary  water  is  made  use  of  as  an  interesting 
feature.  Water  which  has  lain  in  the  sun  is  better  than  cold 
well  water,  or  water  just  from  the  town  mains,  so  one  generally 
finds  a  good-sized  basin  making  an  interesting  pool  in  the  gar- 
den. A  proper  place  for  tools  creates  a  garden-house — fre- 
quently quite  a  delightful  feature — and  the  greenhouse,   hot- 


English   Gardens 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

bed  cold-frames,  bins  for  leaves,  and  all  such  accessories  of 
garden-work  are  made  to  lend  interest  to  the  kitchen-garden 
and  give  it  the  air  of  order  which  is  characteristic  of  all  English 
work.  The  desire  to  make  the  most  of  every  scrap  of  ground 
induces  the  utmost  care  in  getting  all  that  is  possible  out  of 
smallest  compass.  The  walls,  as  well  as  the  ground,  must  yield 
their  increase,  and  all  must  be  in  compact  form.    This  has  pro- 


A   MODERN    HOUSE   AND  GARDEN 


duced  the  many  varieties  of  dwarf  trees  which  add  interest  to 
the  garden,  and  has  led  to  the  careful  rotation  of  crops,  and 
the  following  of  crops  in  the  same  season,  all  of  which  increase 
the  appearance  of  care  and  thoroughness. 

Flowers  are  so  interwoven  with  kitchen-garden,  part  of 
which  is  generally  occupied  by  the  varieties  which  are  more 
useful  for  cutting  than  for  their  beauty  out  of  doors,  as  to 
lead  one  to  the  consideration  of  the  flower-garden  as  the  next 
need  to  be  satisfied.     The  flowers  one  might  divide  under  three 


83 


English   Garden; 


GRASS  TERRACES  AND  GARDEN-HOUSE 


heads :  roses,  perennials,  annuals.  This  is  of  course  a  very  primi- 
tive division,  but  those  three  classes  are  represented  in  e\'ery 
English  garden  ;  and  the  three,  as  befits  their  dift'erent  charac- 
teristics, are  generally  separated,  so  that  one  has  the  rose-gar- 
den, the  perennial  beds  or  borders,  and  the  parterre  of  annuals, 
Roses  are  the  special  pride  of  the  English  gardener,  and  with 
climbers,  standards,  and  low-budded  roses,  and  all  the  \arieties 
of  briars,  almost  anything  can  be  done  with  the  rose-garden. 
Like  other  parts  of  the  place  it  is  enclosed  with  walls  or  a  hedge. 
The  perennials,  being  like  the  roses  permanent  occupiers  of 
the  ground,  are  placed  in  deep  rich  beds  ;  and  for  convenience 
both  of  tending  and  picking,  are  frequently  in  long,  narrow 
borders  against  the  walls.  This  gives  the  tall  growing  plants 
the  support  and  protection  of  the  wall,  and  leaves  room  for  the 
various  smaller  varieties  in  the  edge.  Such  a  long  border,  with 
perhaps  a  hedged  walk  or  bowling-green  running  the  length 
of  it,  is  a  familiar  and  most  charming  feature.     The  annuals 


European   and    Japanese   Garde 


NS 


English   Gardens 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


IE  WALL  OF  A   MODERN    GARDEN 


are  in  small  beds  by  themselves,  the  beds  often  bordered  with 
dwarf  box, — so  that  the  regular  outline  of  the  beds  may  be 
pleasing  even  when  the  beds  themsehes  are  empty.  To  reach 
the  gardens  and  to  enjoy  them  when  in  their  midst,  one  finds 
pleasant  walks,  some  shady, — perhaps  completely  embowered, 
— others  sunny,  for  use  on  cold  days.  There  are  also  seats  and 
garden-houses. 

In  laying  all  this  out,  there  is  generally  a  double  aim  ; 
first  to  give,  by  occasional  long  vistas,  a  sense  of  size  ;  and  sec- 
ond, by  screened  enclosures  and  half-concealed  exits,  a  sense 
of  privacy  and  a  stimulus  to  the  imagination  for  what  lies  be- 
yond. In  the  most  interesting  gardens  the  element  of  the  un- 
expected is  always  present,  and  the  fact  that  it  cannot  be  a  sur- 
prise to  the  owner  does  not  really  detract  from  its  value ;  to 
every  visitor  it  is  a  source  of  delight,  new  pleasures  still  unfold- 
ing until  the  last  surprise  of  the  round  is  in  finding  oneself 
back  again  at  the  starting-place. 

Architectural  laws  demand  a  certain  amount  of  le\el  space 
immediately  about  the  house,  and  various  sports  require  level 


87 


English   Gardens 

i^round  further  afield.  The  bowhng-green,  crociuet-ground, 
and  lawn-tennis  courts  have  formed  at  one  time  or  another 
necessary  parts  in  the  layout  of  even  a  small  place.  These 
fiat  pieces  of  the  splendid  turf  which  is  so  common  in  England 
are  among^  the  most  beautiful  features  of  the  English  garden. 
Here  again  the  love  for  retirement  suggests  enclosing  walls  or 
hedges,  so  that  the  court  or  the  green  is  really  a  great  out-of- 
doors  room,  with  garden  seats  and  benches  about,  or  perhaps 
in  the  more  stately  ones,  busts  on  plinths  in  Italian  fashion  set 
against  the  somber  green  of  the  yew  hedge.  Again  one  sees 
that  this  feature  is  produced  in  direct  response  to  a  need. 

Le\'el  ground  cannot  always  be  obtained  naturally,  and  the 
need  of  it  has  developed  the  terraces  which  abound  in  the  hilly 
districts.  These  may  be  the  mere  formal  treatment  of  the  plat- 
form on  which  the  house  securely  rests  ;  or  they  may  form  the 
various  divisions  of  the  hillside  garden  ;  or  again,  surrounding 
the  sunken  garden,  they  may  give  the  pleasant  walk  and  that 
most  delightful  of  all  views  which  one  gets  of  a  small   garden, 


A   LEVEL   STRETCH 


88 


European  and  Japanese   Gardens 


the  view  looking  down.  All  the  features  we  have  considered 
may  be  worked  out  on  a  groundwork  of  terraces,  and  their 
possibilities  as  well  as  their  charms,  are  endless.  Sedding 
well  said  that  howe\'er  much  we  were  refined  and  cultivated 
there  was  always  an  underlying  sa\'agery  which  at  times 
demanded  satisfaction.  One  must  tire  of  the  sure  mark  of 
man's  hand,  and  long  for  nature  unrestrained  :  the  wide  sea- 
board and  the  rude  forest.  So  one  finds  in  almost  every  Eng- 
lish place  of  any  size  some  wilderness,  some  copse,  or  combe, 
which  shall  be  left  free  and  wild,  or  at  the  least  a  reminder  of 
nature  quite  free.  But  the  transition  from  the  cultivated  aspect 
of  nature  to  its  wilder  form  must  be  gradual ;  one  does  not 
want  to  open  the  garden-gate  in  the  wall  and  be  in  the  forest. 
Between  the  two,  one  finds  the  pasture-lands,  rolling,  sheep- 
cropped  fields,  bordered  not  with  the  masonry  wall  or  the 
clipped  hedge,  but  with  the  wild  hedgerow%  thick  with  thorn 
and  holly  and  punctuated  with  the  upstanding  elms.  From  the 
pastures  to  the  copse  and  the  woodland  the  transition  is  easy. 


English   Gardens 


A  WELL-LAID   LAWN 


A  GARDEN    PATH 


90 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


THE  OBLONG  POOL 


Thus  the  En^Hsh  garden  has  its  forecourt  and  basecourt, 
its  gardens  for  fruit,  vegetables  and  flowers,  its  places  for  sport 
and  recreation  ;  and  to  guard  and  protect  all  these  from  search- 
ing winds  and  prying  eyes,  are  the  boundaries,  the  divisions, 
the  walls  and  the  hedges.  The  walls,  especially  those  near  the 
house,  are  always  in  close  touch  with  the  house  itself.  They 
are  built  of  stone  if  the  house  be  of  stone,  and  of  brick  if  the 
house  be  a  brick  one,  and  in  their  ornament,  balustrades,  gate- 
ways, posts,  copings  and  finials,  they  echo  the  character  of  the 
house.  As  one  goes  further  from  the  house  the  walls  are  less 
architectural  and  more  purely  utilitarian.  The  boundary  wall 
of  the  place,  or  the  north  or  east  wall  of  the  garden  may  be  ten 
or  twelve  feet  high,  for  these  are  to  serve  as  a  real  protection  ; 
others  may  be  but  two  or  three  feet  high,  mere  boundaries  to 
mark  a  line.  The  hedge  is  perhaps  the  commonest  bound  of 
all,  and  this  varies  from  the  rough  pasture  hedgerow  to  the 
clipped  yew,  or  holly,  or  box.     The   ornamental   clipping  of 


91 


English   Gardens 

hedges  and  indixidual  trees,  or  what  is  known  as  topiary-work, 
was  an  importation  from  Holland,  and  at  one  time  was  very 
popular.  There  are  many  examples  of  this  work  in  the  older 
j^ardens,  but  to-day  clipped  work  is  rather  more  sober,  and,  on 
the  whole,  more  in  keepin^t^  with  the  common-sense  beauty  of 
the  English  garden. 

Shrubs  are  rarely  seen  as  individual  show-plants,  but  are 
generally  massed   and   placed  with   some  special  end  in  view 


AN    OUTLOOK    FROM    THE    HOUSE 


beyond  and  apart  from  their  mere  beauty.  They  will  serxe  to 
screen  the  offices  or  the  kitchen-yard,  or  to  make  a  windbreak 
for  more  delicate  things  growing  on  the  borders  of  the  lawn. 
Trees  also  are  used  very  cautiously  as  individual  specimens. 
Occasionally  a  great  plane  tree  or  an  ilex  stands  in  lonely  gran- 
deur at  the  edge  of  the  lawn  ;  but,  as  a  rule,  the  trees  are 
planted  in  groups  to  serve  definite  purposes, — sometimes  to 
shut  out  an  undesirable  view,  sometimes  to  form  a  vista 
towards  a  pleasant  scene.     Again,  a  group  of  elms  at  the  end 


92 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

of  a  place  may  simply  serve  as  a  background,  a  j^reat  drop- 
scene,  which  finishes  the  \'iew  and  lea\es  one  in  doubt  as  to 
how  much  more  there  may  be  beyond.  Many  a  small  place  of 
two  or  three  acres  gives  an  impression  at  once  of  seclusion  and 
of  size,  because  the  great  trees  pre\'ent  one's  seeing  what  lies 
beyond.  The  larger  places  will,  of  course,  have  their  copse 
and  woodland  ;  but  even  here  the  marks  of  axe,  mattock  and 
saw  show  that  thoroughness  and  care,  and  that  eye  to  profit 
which  per\'ade  everything ;  for  dead  wood  is  always  cleared 
out,  the  spindling  trees  are  felled,  the  brushwood  is  cut  and  tied 
in  fagots.  Everywhere  there  are  signs  of  an  old  industry,  a 
well-worked  country,  where  e\erything  must  be  turned  to 
account.  When  one  wanders  through  English  gardens  and 
feels  all  their  delight,  one  cannot  but  be  con\inced  that  com- 
mon-sense and  thrift  are  the  roots  on  which  the  beauty  has 
grown  and  thrived. 


A   HEDGE  GATEWAY 


93 


FRENCH    GARDENING    AND    ITS    MASTER 

5v  John    Galen    Howard 


O   £ 

?  E 


FRENCH    GARDENING    AND    ITS    MASTER 

By  JOHN   GALEN   HOWARD 

FELLOW    OF   THE    AMERICAN    INSTITUTE    OF    A  RCH IIECIS 


SUCH  a  subject  as  that  upon   which  I  have  been  asked 
to  say  a  few   words   is    of    far  too   \ast  a  scope  to  be 
adequately   treated   within  the    Hmits  of   a  short  paper. 
I  have  therefore  thought  it  wise  to  single  out  one  great  epoch 


and    to    con- 

illustrate ; 

fine    my    re- 

a n  d     e  \'  e  r 

marks    and 

since  that 

my     illustra- 

'^BEA^«^^IIBiBI 

time,  all  work 

tions  mainly 

':&BBHpHh^ ''-  ^^^^^^Ri 

of   French- 

tothatperiod. 

ImP'^W^^^mIHH 

1      men  in  land- 

This can  the 

^^^^BS^^ -'^'L.  -^  *'     "^^jIBj^BS^^^H^B'S 

scape  design 

more     justly 
and  the  more 

I^^IHR^^^--, 

has  been 
done    with 

readily    be 

that    age    of 

done      in 

■  ■  mL^  ■  f, 

achievement 

speaking    of 

.^mh'-^\  ^   . 

very    vividly 

French    gar- 
dens,   inas- 

m-^'s^^ ^Ul^ 

in  the  eye  of 
the    artist, 

much    as  all 

whether      he 

the  early  his- 

"^—^- 

worked  from 

tory   of    hor- 

■ 1 

it  as   an   ac- 

ticulture    i  n 

cepted  proto- 

France leads 

...  t -^^pK|^^.-|y '^^ i^afwiify "• 

type,  or  fiung 

up  to  the  per- 

A   LEAD   VASE 

himself    into 

iod  I  propose 

Basin   of  Neptune,  Versailles 

eager    oppo- 

especially to 

sition  to  the 

principles  which  governed  it  and  made  its  greatness. 

The  entire  history  of  French  gardening  is  dominated  in  a 
degree  very  exceptional  in  any  art  or  people  by  a  single  per- 
sonality— that,  namely,  of  Le  Notre.     I  do  not  mean  to  say, 


97 


French   Gardening  and   Its   Master 


of  course,  that  there  was  no  important  gardening  in  France 
before  or  after  his  day,  or  by  other  men  during  the  period  of 
his  own  activity.  The  gentle  art  was  indeed  practiced  with 
keenest  deHght,  and  with  signal  success,  by  countless  genera- 
tions of  Frenchmen  before  the  man  I  have  named  began  his 
career ;  and  to  so  great  a  degree  is  this  true,  that  the  French 
may  fairly  be  called  a  nation  of  garden  builders.     There  has 

always,   from   the 


*% 


V  e  r  }'  earliest 
times,  been,  in  the 
French  character, 
a  special  fondness 
and  aptitude  for 
the  art  of  horticul- 
ture ;  and  from 
the  earliest  times 
there  have  been 
striking  examples 
of  gardens  whose 
design  has  been 
developed  in  obe- 
dience to  the  laws 
not  merely  of  an 
art, —  that  is  to 
say,  a  science, — 
but  of  a  fine  art, 
strictly  so-called. 
No  medieval 
stronghold  or  re- 
ligious establish- 
ment was  com- 
plete without  its 
space  (however 
small)  set  apart 
for  the  special  purpose  of  a  garden — a  pleasure-ground 
where  flowers  and  fruit-trees  were  disposed  in  such  forms 
and  in  such  combijiations  as  to  give  not  only  a  practical 
result  as  a  matter  of  agriculture,  but  a  grateful  effect  from 
the  point  of  view  of  pure  beauty.  The  French  seem  always 
to  have  felt  an  instinctive  delight  in  the  simple  pleasures 
of  the   o])en   air:    in   flowers  and   trees,  and  vistas,  and   run- 


PLAN    OF  THE    GARDENS   OF  VERSAILLES 


98 


European   and    Japanese   Garde 


NS 


French   Gardening   and   Its   Master 


BASIN   OF   LATONE  AND  THE    PALACE 


VERSAILLES 


ning  waters, — which  led  them  to  bring  all  these  things  into 
their  own  homes,  to  add  them  as  so  many  intimate  features  of 
the  greater  house.  But  all  this  instinctive  delight  in  the  gar- 
den, all  this  acquired  skill  in  garden-making,  led  on  and  up  to 


THE    BASIN   OF  APOLLO 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

the  climax  of  accomplishment  under  the  famous  gardener  of 
the  Grand  Monarque,  who  in  his  single  practice  summed  up 
all  that  was  best  in  what  preceded  him. 

It  is  easy  to  see  the  influence  that  Italy  had  upon  the  early 
development  of  agronomy  in  France,  just  as  it  is  easy  to  trace 
the  growth  of  the  other  arts  from  Italian  sources.  Italian  en- 
lightenment preceded  the  French  ;  and  in  the  same  wav  that, 


W0 


\^mm^ 


jlK^^:^ 


THE   BASIN  OF  CERES 


VERSAILLES 


in  the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian  Era,  Gaul  drew  her  in- 
spiration from  Rome,  so  later  through  the  ages,  France,  while 
always  coloring  with  her  own  character  what  she  appropriated 
from  her  instructress,  sat  at  the  feet  of  Italy.  This  is  true  in  a 
measure  of  all  the  arts, — but  most  distinctly  so  in  gardening. 
It  would  even  be  difficult  in  many  instances  to  distinguish  the 
design  of  a  French  garden  of  the  middle  ages  from  an  Italian 
example  of  a  similar  period.    And  this  for  a  twofold  reason  : — 


French   Gardening   and   Its   Master 

TO'.- 


GROVE  OF  THE  COLONNADE 


first,  the  French  civiHzation  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  Italian, 
and  second,  the  art  of  gardening  was  at  that  time  little  devel- 
oped, compared  with  what  it  afterward  became,  and  was,  in 


4r 


4^ 


THE    BASIN   OF  THE   DRAGON 


VERSAILLES 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


THE  ORANGERY 


VERSAILLES 


effect,  the  least  advanced  of  all  the  arts.  Consequently  the 
characteristics  of  the  various  peoples  practicing  it  were  little 
marked,  for  the  early  arts  of  all  peoples  much  resemble  one 
another ;  it  is  only  at  the  higher,  and  especially  the  highest 
points  of  their  respective  developments,  that  the  finer  and  more 
characteristic  elements  of  a  race  are  brought  out  in  its  art 
accomplishment. 

Du  Cerceau,  in  commenting  upon  the  undoubted  influence 
which  the  taste  of  the  Italians  exercised  over  their  northern 
neighbors,  outlines  the  type  which  was  common  in  both  France 
and  Italy.  "Everywhere,"  he  says,"  were  great  divisions  with 
avenues  of  high  trees,  fences  of  hazel,  and  hedges  of  hawthorne. 
Long,  trellised  arbors,  opening  out  at  intervals  into  shady  sum- 
mer-houses, ideally  arranged  for  scenes  of  gallantry,  sur- 
rounded the  open  central  space,  or  divided  it  into  several 
individual  gardens.  Marble  basins  with  spouting  water-jets 
and  cascades,  gliding  from  artificial  rocks,  made  up  the  prin- 


103 


French   Gardening  and   Its   Master 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

cipal  remaining-  features  of  the  rather  chiUing-  and  over-sym- 
metrical decoration  of  the  ItaHan  gardens,  in  which  everything 
seemed  obedient  to  a  singfle  demand,  —  coolness,  shade, 
mystery." 

The  transition  from  the  dark  ag"es  to  the  Renaissance  was 
marked  in  gardening-  more  by  a  change  of  scale  than  by  a 
change  in  kind,  or  point  of  view.    Whereas  the  old-time  castle 


THE  CROSS   OF   FRANCHARD 


FOREST  OF  FONTAINEBLEAU 


garden,  or  cloister  garth,  had  been  a  small  and  confined 
area, — what  could  without  too  much  sacrifice  of  security  and 
increase  of  protective  garrison  be  aft'orded  within  the  moat, — 
the  fifteenth  century  brought  in  larger  ideas,  and  not  only  the 
desire,  but  the  possibility  of  using  wider  spaces.  Gardens 
expanded,  accordingly,  from  cramped,  walled  spaces,  strictly 
within  the  precincts,  to  wide  free  fields  stretching  far  out  over 
the   plain,   and  even  into  the  forests, — themselves  more  and 


los 


French   Gardening   and   Its   Master 


GORGE  OF  THE   MEDLARS 


FOREST  OF   FONTAINEBLEAU 


European  and  Japanese  Gardens 

more  frequently  being-  brought  into  the  great  scheme  by  means 
of  long  straight  avenues  cut  across  through  the  thickest  woods 
and  gi\'ing  centers  of  interest  from  which  again  new  lines  of 
view  were  opened  out,  and  out,  till  wide  regions,  many  miles 
in  extent  and  of  the  most  diversified  character,  were  held  in 


PLAN   OF  THE   PALACE  AND  GARDENS  OF  FONTAINEBLEAU 

leash,  as  it  were, — their  wildness  preserved  as  their  most  pre- 
cious quality,  yet  netted  and  meshed  across  by  lanes,  round 
points,  paths  and  avenues,  which  give  them  a  fascinating  sem- 
blance of  complete  submission  to  civilizing  influences.  Who 
has  traversed  the  marvelous  forest  of  Fontainebleau,  for  exam- 
ple, but  with  a  new  sense  of  the  wildness,  the  strangeness,  the 
indomitable  spirit  of  nature  ?  Vet  all  that  wild  territory  is  but 
a  vast  garden,  its  design  composed  and  adjusted  with  the  last 
degree  of  skill,  and  cultivated  with  a  care  as  extreme  in  its 
large  way  as  that  with  which,  in  their  more  intimate  fashion, 
the  Luxembourg  gardens,  for  instance,  are  dressed  and  cod- 
dled. 

The  principal  professional  garden-makers  of  the  Renais- 
sance were  the  three  Mollets,  Bernard  Palissy,  and  Olivier  de 
Serres,  the  last  being  rather  a  practical  man  than  a  designer. 
The  Mollets  seem  to  have  been  a  sort  of  dynasty  in  the  art,  the 
first  of  the  name  having  created  for  the  Due  d'Aumale  the 
famous  gardens  about  the  Chateau  d'Anet,  of  which  practically 
nothing  is  left.  The  castle  itself  has  been  razed,  with  the 
exception  of  some  of  the  loveliest  portions,  which  were  removed 
to  the  court  of  the  School  of  Fine  Arts  in  Paris.     Claude  Mol- 


107 


French   Gardening  and   Its   Master 

let,  the  son  of  the  first,  is  considered  as  the  immediate  prede- 
cessor of  Le  Notre  himseU" ;  to  him  is  ascribed  the  invention 
of  fioral  embroideries.  He  is  largely  responsible  for  the  gar- 
den schemes  at  Fontainebleau,  and  at  St.  Germain-en-Laye 
(1595).  His  work  in  the  Gardens  of  the  Tuileries  was,  how- 
ever, totally  destroyed  by  freezing.  Andre  Mollet,  the  third 
of  the  family  and  son  of  Claude,  became  gardener  to  Louis 
XIII.  He  was  afterward  called  by  James  I  to  England,  where 
his  work  had  a  determining  influence  on  the  development  of 
gardening  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

Bernard  Palissy,  the  same  who  is  better  known  for  his 
work  in  porcelain,  is  remembered  in  gardening  annals  for  a 
certain  fabulous  pleasure-ground  which  was  carried  out,  accord- 
ing to  his  unbridled  imagination,  for  Catherine  de  Medici  at 
Chenonceaux,  where  he  completely  abandoned  himself  to  his 
fancy  for  rockeries,  basins,  frogs,  turtles,  snakes,  shell-work, 
etc.  A  long  ''dialogue"  of  his  on  this  subject,  expatiating  on 
the  beauties  of  the  work,  is  quoted  by  Mangin  in  his  interest- 
ing book. 


THE   PALACE   FROM   THE   PARK 


FONTAINEBLEAU 


108 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


French   Gardening  and   Its   Master 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


BASIN   OF  THE  CASCADE 


FONTAINEBLEAU 


But  it  was  not  the  professional  i^^ardeners  alone  who  were 
successful  in  the  art.  Many  of  the  finest  gardens  were  laid  out 
by  architects  who  designed  the  grounds  to  harmonize  with  their 
buildings.  The  finest  garden  of  that  time  which  has  been  pre- 
served for  us  in  anything  like  its  original  beauty,  in  fact  the 
only  remaining  Renaissance  garden  in  Paris,  is  the  garden  of 
the  Luxembourg,  which  was  laid  out,  between  1615  and  1620, 
for  Marie  de  Medici  by  Jacques  Debrosse,  the  architect  of  the 
palace  of  the  same  name.  Originally  these  grounds  were  of 
great  extent,  but  they  have  been  repeatedly  curtailed  and  en- 
croached upon,  only  the  central  portions  immediately  about 
the  palace  retaining  their  original  character.  There  are  cer- 
tainly few  spots  in  the  world  which  possess  a  more  exquisite, 
a  more  satisfying  charm. 

But  all  of  these  men,  successful  as  they  were,  yield  the  palm 
to  Le  Notre,  who  occupies  much  the  same  place  in  the  art  of 
gardening  as  Shakespeare  fills  in  poetry  ;  a  place  recognized 
not  bv  his  own  race  alone,  but  by  the  world.     Le  Notre,  indeed, 


French   Gardening  and   Its   Master 

is  a  name  known  to  all  men, — and  of  how  many  other  names 
in  his  art  can  that  be  said  ?  How  many  of  the  names  I  have 
mentioned  are  kno\vn,  except  Palissy,  whose  work  in  other 
lines  is  his  chief  claim  to  renown,  beyond  the  circles  of  those 
who  have  made  a  special  study  of  the  history  of  horticulture  ? 
In  other  arts  one  can  run  through  a  dozen  names  with  ease, 
but  in  gardening  there  is  one  man,  and  one  only,  of  such  com- 
manding genius  that  his  name  is  a  household  word  and  his 
chief  work  a  recognized  classic.  Le  Notre  resembled  Shakes- 
peare in  another  point,  namely,  that  he  was  content  to  take 


THE  CHATEAU    FROM  THE  LAKE 


CHANTILLY 


the  material  ready  at  hand  and  perfect  it,  rather  than  run 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth  for  new  motives  on  which  to  build, 
new  forms  in  w^iich  to  cast  his  work.  The  poise,  the  insight, 
the  imagination  of  genius  of  the  first  order  was  his  ;  but  he 
saw  his  field  to  be  large  enough  in  perfecting  and  in  inter- 
preting what  his  predecessors  had  prepared  for  him.  The 
quintessence  of  genius  and  of  wisdom,  this, — not  to  throw  away 
as  nothing  worth  the  skill  of  preceding  ages  and  his  own ;  but  to 
seize  it,  treasure  it,  transmute  it  in  the  alembic  of  his  own  per- 
sonality,— put  it  forth  at  last  pure  gleaming  metal  of  creative 
power.     Of  such  stuff  was  the  originality  of  Shakespeare  in 


European   and  Japanese   Garde 


NS 


French   Gardening  and   Its   Master 


European  and  Japanese  Garden; 


PLAN   OF  THE   PARK  OF   MARL\ 


poetry,  and  of  Le  Notre  in  gardening^.  Of  what  immense  inter- 
est it  would  be  to  show  how  this  principle  holds  through  the 
history  of  all  the  arts, — that  he  is  greatest  who  can  take  what 
other  men  have  done  and  better  it,  perfect  it, — not  he  who  pre- 
sumptuously shatters  traditions,  essaying,  as  it  were,  what  no 
one  has  ever  succeeded  in  doing,  anew  and  alone  to  construct 
an  art  out  of  his  own  inner  consciousness. 

Andre  Le  Notre  was  born  at  Paris  in  1613.  He  was  the 
son  of  the  King's  snn'ntendant,  as  his  title  was :  what 
would  correspond,  I  suj)pose,  in  our  time  and  tongue,  to 
Director  of  Works, — head  gardener  and  outside  man.  The 
father  was  anxious  to  have  his  son  become  a  painter,  though  in 
those  days  the  natural  course  of  events  was  for  a  man's  son  to 
follow  in  his  father's  footsteps.  We  are  forced  to  draw  the 
conclusion  that  the  surintciidaiit  had  found  his  calling  none 
too  much  like  the  beds  of  roses  his  business  was  to  cultivate, 
since  he  went  so  far  out  of  his  way  to  induce  his  son  not  to 


115 


French   Gardening  and   Its   Master 


European   and   Japanese   Gardens 

follow  it.  However  that  may  be,  the  son  showed  early  a  fondness 
for  things  beautiful,  was  always,  from  his  earliest  childhood, 
about  the  gardens  of  the  King,  with  his  father,  and  showed  an 
aptitude  for  drawing  as  well  as  cultivating.  At  his  father's 
instance  he  studied  painting  under  Simon  Vouet,  in  whose 
studio  he  met,  among  others,  Le  Sueur,  Mignard  and  Lebrun  ; 
but  his  heart  turned  ever  to  the  paternal  calling,  and  his  incli- 
nation was  finally  so  strong  as  not  to  be  denied.  He  took  up 
the  profession  of  gardening  in  the  highest  sense, — what  we 
call  landscape  architecture.  It  is  certain  that  his  training  in  a 
studio  where  he  came  into  personal  relations  with  the  leading 
painters,  sculptors  and  architects  of  his  time,  had  a  definite 
and  very  powerful  influence  over  the  young  man's  development, 
giving  him  a  wider  range  and  a  truer  artistic  sense  than  even 
his  genius  could  have  commanded  otherwise.  The  practical 
knowledge,  which  was  his  as  a  direct  heritage  from  his  father, 
become  virtually  his  second  nature,  was  thus  linked  with  the 
broadest  artistic  education  of  his  time.  Beside  these  advant- 
ages he  possessed  an  intellect  of  great  clearness  and  power, 


A   PROMENADE   IN  THE  TUILERIES 


French   Gardening  and   Its   Master 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

and  a  personal  character  at  once  of  winninj^'-  charm  and  of 
masterly  strength.  An  individuality  so  marked  as  his  would 
have  achieved  greatness  in  almost  any  time  or  land  ;  small 
wonder,  then,  that  in  a  period  so  sympathetic  with  his  nature  as 
was  the  age  of  Louis  XIV  in  France, — an  age  of  luxury,  limit- 
less expenditure,  devotion  to  art,  to  pomp  and  to  ceremony, 
an  age  which  played  upon  his  own  nature  and  formed  it,  and 
in  turn  was  played  upon  and  formed  by  it, — we  find  him 
accomplishing  a  work  very  exceptional  in  its  extent  and  its 


THE  TUILERIES  AND  THE   LOUVRE 


variety.  No  doubt  ne  had  countless  assistants  in  his  multifa- 
rious tasks,  but  his  spirit  informs  and  distinguishes  all  the  end- 
less list  of  works  which  are  counted  among  his  masterpieces  ; 
and,  in  addition,  the  indications  of  his  genius  served  to  remodel, 
and  practically  reconstruct,  many  of  the  gardens  of  an  earlier 
day,  already  famous,  but  transformed  and  made  to  blossom 
anew  under  the  suggestions  of  his  enlightening  imagination. 
He  stands  alone  for  his  art,  through  the  century,  which  was 
honored  by  his  birth,  and  the  succeeding  one.  He  summed  up 
all  that  was  best  worth  while  in  the  garden  practice  of  his  own 
time  and  that  preceding  it,  and  welded  it  into  a  consistent 
whole,  through  sheer  force  of  creative  power.  He  invented, 
indeed,   no  new  kind,  but  he  ennobled  and  synthesized  the 


French   Gardening  and   Its   Master 


THE    MEDICI    FOUNTAIN 


GARDENS  OF  THE   LUXEMBOURG 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


A  FOUNTAIN 


GARDENS  OF  THE  LUXEMBOURC 


insignificant  and  scattered  elements  of  preceding  practice 
into  a  finely  realized  ensemble  which  stands  up  proudly,  over- 
shadowing the  earlier  time  and  shedding  light  over  our  own. 

Before  his  time  there  had  been  comparatively  little  varia- 
tion in  the  design  of  gardens.  One  work  mimicked  another, 
the  same  effects  being  reproduced  with  only  slight  changes  to 
suit  the  individual  requirements  or  difficulties  of  the  client  or 
the  situation.  No  great  underlying  principles  of  design  were 
recognized,  and  no  effort  had  been  made  to  get  outside  of 
the  work  and  look  at  it  in  a  large  way,  objectively.  Errors 
and  imperfections  had  constantly  arisen  from  miscalculations 
of  foreshortening,  the  easiest  of  faults  to  make,  and  the  most 
difficult  to  obviate,  except  by  long  and  dearly  bought  experi- 
ence. A  plan  or  bird's-eye  view,  as  everyone  knows,  may  be 
charming,  and  yet  the  execution  prove  very  disappointing, 
owing  to  just  this  awful  difference  in  the  foreshortening.  If 
this  is  true  now,  with  numberless  examples  of  landscape  work 
from  which  to  argue,  on  which  to  base  one's  judgment,  how 
much  greater  must  have  been  the  difficulty  in  former  times. 


French   Gardening   and   Its   Master 


European  and  Japanese  Gardens 

That  it  was  well-nijvjfh  insurmountable  we  know.  But  the 
instinct  of  Le  Notre  for  the  pecuHar  beauty  of  g^ardens,  united 
with  a  clear  imagination,  enabled  him  to  free  himself,  to  a 
remarkable  decree  always,  and  in  some  instances  absolutely, 
from  the  cruel  hamperinof  of  conventional  materials  of  study  ; 
and  at  Versailles,  probably  his  finest  work,  certainly  the  finest 
that  has  been  preserved  to  our  day,  his  spirit  seems  to  have 
risen  entirely  superior  to  ordinary  limitations,  and  has  pro- 


PLAN  OF  THE  GARDENS  OF  THE  LUXEMBOURG 


duced  a  work  as  perfect  in  its  complex  simplicity,  and  in  every 
detail  of  its  eftect  as  adequate  and  as  just,  as  it  is  impressive. 

Le  Notre  possessed  in  preeminent  degree  what  his  race 
calls  "the  sense  of  the  beautiful  in  space";  and  in  like  degree 
he  had,  to  quote  one  of  his  biographers,  "  the  sense  of  elegance 
in  majesty  and  regularity."  He  was  especially  fortunate  in 
his  patron.  Louis  XIV  was  an  ideal  client  for  a  designer  like 
le  Notre.  While  he  seems  not  to  have  been  the  actual  discov- 
erer of  his  gardener's  talent,  he  at  any  rate  gave  him  his 
noblest  opportunities,  took  him  literally  into  his  heart,  and 
heaped   benefits  and   honors   upon   him.      I   fancy,   from   the 


123 


French   Gardening  and   Its   Master 


PLAN  OF  THE  GARDENS  AND  PARK 


accounts  of  his  dealings  with  his  artists  of  various  ivinds,  that 
the  Grand  Monarque  was  far  from  being  what  an  architect 
would  call  an  easy  client.  He  had  ideas  of  his  own,  thought 
he  knew  it  all  better  than  the  cleverest  of  others,  made  changes 
from  beginning  to  end  during  the  progress  of  the  work  ;  and 
indulged,  without  a  thought  of  the  other  man,  in  all  those 
annoyances  which,  if  they  were  not  at  times  so  difficult  to 
bear  with,  we  should  call  petty.  But  with  all  that,  he  recog- 
nized very  substantially,  in  honors,  in  pecuniary  grants,  and, 
best  of  all,  in  enlarged  opportunities  for  work,  his  indebted- 
ness to  those  who  worked  for  him.  Le  Notre  was  a  consum- 
mate courtier,  never  for  a  moment  presuming  to  a  semblance 
of  social  equality  with  the  great  nobles  for  whom  he  worked  ; 
but  at  the  same  time  giving  rein,  in  their  presence,  to  the 
charming  child-like  good  nature  and  enthusiasm  which  was  so 
important  a  factor  in  his  success.  Those  who  employed  him 
loved  him,  and  he  made  his  way,  and  got  his  way,  quite  as 
much,  probably,  by  the  exercise  of  his  personal  charm  as  by 
bringing  into  play  the  more  masterful  powers  of  his  intellect. 


European   and    Japanese   Gardens 


French   Gardening  and   Its   Master 

In  the  midst  of  pompous  formality  he  was  a  playful  child,  and 
the  great  world  liked  the  contrast.  At  one  time  in  his  career 
he  visited  Italy,  wishing  to  see  what  had  been  done  there  in 
his  art.  While  in  Rome  he  was  summoned  to  the  presence 
of  the  Pope,  Innocent  XI.  The  great  prelate  entered  into 
familiar  conversation  with  the  gardener,  complimented  him 
upon  his  wonderful  successes,  and  expressed  regret  that  he 
had  never  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  his  work.  Le  Notre 
entered  into  the  subject  with  enthusiasm,  abandoned  all  for- 
mality, assured  the  Pope  that  he  must  visit  France,  and  see  his 
Versailles.  At  this.  Innocent  protested  as  being  too  old  to 
undertake  such  a  journey.  "  But  your  holiness  is  still  vigor- 
ous," cried  Le  Notre,  "  and  I  wager  will  bury  the  entire  college 
of  cardinals  ! "  With  that  he  threw  his  arms  about  the  Pope's 
neck  and  kissed  him  effusively, — an  unheard-of  liberty,  which 
seems  to  have  delighted  the  head  of  the  churh.      One  is  left  to 


THE  GRAND  CASCADE 


126 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


RUINS  OF  THE   PALACE 


imagine  the  charm  of  ingenuousness  with  which  such  antics 
must  have  been  accompanied  for  them  to  have  been  received 
as  they  were.  When  word  of  this  e\ent  reached  the  court  at 
Versailles,  high  wagers  were  laid  that  the  tale  was  untrue  be- 
cause incredible.  But  Louis  XIV,  when  he  heard  the  account, 
burst  into  laughter,  asserting  he  knew  it  was  true,  "  Because  " 
said  he,  "  he  kisses  even  me,  when  he  has  been  long  without 
seeing  me  ! " 

M.  Andre  maintains  that  the  great  Frenchman  found 
nothing  in  Italy  worthy  of  his  attention,  and  returned  without 
having  learned  anything, — a  claim  which  we  need  not  take  too 
seriously.  He  busied  himself,  while  there,  by  creating  two  of 
the  finest  gardens  in  the  vicinity  of  Rome,  those  of  the  Villa 
Pamfili  and  the  Villa  Ludovisi.  He  was  ennobled  in  1665,  and 
died  in  1 700.  Coysevox,  the  sculptor  of  many  of  the  exquisite 
details  of  the  great  gardener's  work,  executed  his  bust,  which 
is  now  in  the  Louvre. 

A  list  of  Le  Notre's  works  would  be  too  long  for  me  to  give 
here  ;  but  I  must  mention,  in  addition  to  his  masterpiece  at 
Versailles,  his  gardens  at  Marly,  now  nearly  obliterated,  but 
which  must  have  been  only  less  fine  than  Versailles,  though  in 


127 


French   Gardening  and   Its   Master 

an  essentially  different  manner.  The  gardens  of  the  Tuileries 
also  are  in  large  part  his,  though  the  scheme  as  a  whole  is 
hardly  distinguishable,  owing  to  serious  changes  in  portions. 
Of  course  his  tour-de-force  for  Fouque  at  Vaux-le-Vicomte,  one 
of  his  earliest  great  efforts,  is  famous  for  the  jealousy  it  roused 
in  the  king's  breast  when  he  saw  so  magnificent  a  work  exe- 
cuted for  his  financier.  Le  Notre  soon  after  began  the  mar- 
velous series  of  works  for  his  royal  master  Louis  XIV  himself. 
Other  of  his  important  designs  were  at  Sceaux,  Meudon,  Chan- 
tilly,  and  St.  Cloud. 

In  closing  this  hasty  sketch,  I  can  hardly  do  better  than 
to  quote,  in  translating,  from  that  fascinating  work,  Lcs  Jardins, 
by  M.  Mangin,  to  which  I  am  largely  indebted  for  the  facts  I 
have  presented.  M.  Mangin  says,  in  speaking  of  Le  Notre : — 
''  What  he  accomplished  was  to  naturalize  in  France  the  classic 
style,  that  of  the  century  of  Augustus  and  of  the  Renaissance. 
Far  from  breaking  with  tradition,  Le  Notre  was  on  the  contrary 
its  most  eminent  representative  in  modern  times,  and  his  supe- 
riority over  his  immediate  forerunners  comes  from  the  fact  that 
although  the  faithful  disciple  of  the  old  masters,  he  knew  how 
to  draw  inspiration  from  their  lessons  without  copying  their 
works." 


THE  TERRACE  AT   ST.   GERMAIN 


128 


JAPANESE    LANDSCAPE    GARDENING 

By    K.    Honda 


JAPANESE    LANDSCAPE    GARDENING 

(Notes  to  the   Lantern  Slides) 
By   K.    HONDA 

MEMBER    OF    1  HE   JAPANESE    HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY 


IN  Japan    we    have    many   types   of    garden    construction 
which  have  been  described  by  different  authors.     In  this 
paper    we  confine  ourselves  to  the  most  important  and 
interesting-  designs  chosen  from  the  best  sources. 

The  south  is  always  considered  the  most  suitable  ex- 
posure for  dwelling's  among  Japanese,  as  the  summer  breeze 
generally  prevails  from  this  direction.     This  idea  is  so  well  ob- 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1^^' 

!■ 

1 

^^H^HHHfP^^^ ' 

^^ 

m                                              ll^i^ffiMBP 

J^^^^          *^BBBBimBBMfeBf'ii                       ^^'^ 

MANGWANJI   GARDEN 


131 


Japanese   Landscape    Gardening 


PLATE   I  HILL  GARDEN-FINISHED  STYLE 

served  in  garden  construction   that  everyone    adheres  to  the 
principle. 

In  general,  the  composition  of  gardens  may  be  treated 
under  two  divisions :  Flat  {liiranhua)  and  Hill  Gardens 
[tsiikiyaina-niwa],  both  of  which  may  be  again  subdivided  into 
three  different  forms  called,  respectively,  "Finished,"  "Inter- 
mediary," and  "  Rough." 

HILL   GARDEN — FIXLSHKI)    STVLP:. 

Plate  I  represents  an  ordinary  Hill  Garden  of  the  finished 
style,  and  may  be  taken  as  the  best  form  suitable  to  spacious 
land,  located  in  front  of  the  principal  building.  The  positions 
of  the  principal  hills,  stones,  trees,  cascades,  bridges,  and  isles 
are  all  arranged,  as  shown  upon  the  plate. 

HILLS. 

Hill  I,  which  forms  the  central  feature,  represents  a  moun- 
tain of  considerable  size,  and  should  have  broad  sweeping  sides. 
Hill  2,  always  taken  in  connection  with  No.  i,  is  to  be  placed 
close  by  the  latter,  but  is  somewhat  lower  and  consequently  is 


132 


European   and    fAPANESE   Gardens 


Japanese   Landscape   Gardening 

of  secondary  importance.  Hill  3,  placed  on  the  opposite  side 
of  No.  I,  occupies  a  part  of  the  foreground.  It  is  intended  to 
represent  a  lower  hill  or  spur  divided  from  the  principal  moun- 
tain by  a  lowland.  The  lowland  is  supposed  to  be  occupied  by 
a  hamlet,  road,  or  stream.  It  must  be  planted  with  a  few  trees 
or  shrubs  of  thick  foliage,  so  as  to  give  an  idea  of  a  sheltered 
and  inhabited  dale.     Hill  4  is  a  small  eminence,  generally  dis- 


■■■ 

■r 

r-            ^^     ^^ 

jL£                   '.■■            «ii'    -^^^     •{            '  11.;              1      .<£          ^  1  •• 

1- "^i*r"ii:iwB^  w>-<'»i.-^ 

,.-  •.  ^^mf^^ 

THE   MIKADO'S  GARDEN 


posed  in  the  near  foreground,  which  forms  a  part  of  the  hill- 
side. Hill  5  is  placed  in  the  farther  end  of  the  garden,  in  such 
manner  that  one  can  have  a  view  of  it  between  Hills  i  and  2. 
As  this  hill  is  intended  to  look  like  a  distant  peak,  it  must  be 
executed  so  as  to  have  a  precipitous  appearance,  while  its  bot- 
tom must  be  covered  perfectly  to  gi\'e  only  a  suggestion  of 
foreground.  The  illustration  shows  ten  important  types  of 
rock-stones,  of  which  the  following  is  an  explanation  : 


134 


EuRop   \N  AND  Japanese   Gardens 


/ 


Japanese   Landscape    Gar    ening 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

STONES. 

No.  I,  termed  "Guardian  Stone,"  is  a  high  one  and  is 
placed  in  an  upright  position.  It  is  situated  in  the  center  of  the 
garden,  and  is  called  the  dedication  stone.  No.  2,  forming 
a  balance  with  No.  i,  is  placed  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  cascade.  No.  3,  large  and  fiat,  is  termed  "  Worshipping 
Stone."  It  is  placed  generally  in  the  foreground,  or,  some- 
times, on  the  center  of  an  island,  or  even  on  an  open  space, 
accessible  by  stepping-stones.  In  the  illustration  it  is  repre- 
sented as  located  on  an  island.  The  conil)inati()n  of  No.  1 
and  No.  3  can  never  be  omitted  from  a  garden.  No.  4,  termed 
"  Perfect-View  Stone,"  is  placed  in  the  "  near  foreground."  It 
is  equally  good  to  have  it  on  a  side  of  the  garden,  if  by  the  latter 
position  it  maintains  a  due  prominence.  Often  two  or  more  flat 
stones  are  used.  No.  5,  situated  on  the  other  side  of  the  gar- 
den, and  just  in  front  of  No.  4,  should  be  so  placed  as  to  be  in 


STONE    LANTERNS 


137 


Japanese    Landscape   Gardening 


SORINTO,    NIKKO 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

harmony  with  a  flat  one,  termed  "  Water-Tray  Stone."  Both 
are  situated  on  the  shore  of  a  lake,  and  are  carefully  arrang-ed 
in  connection  with  the  hi^h-water  level.  No.  6,  called  "  Moon- 
Shadow  Stone,"  occupies  an  important  position  in  the  distance 
being  placed  in  the  valley  between  two  principal  hills,  just  in 
front  of  the  peak  (Hill  No.  5).  No.  7,  called  "  Cave  Stone,"  is 
upright  and  is  very  similar  in  use  to  the  "  Guardian  Stone," 
for  which  it  is  often  substituted.  No.  8  generally  goes  by  the 
name  of  "  Seat-of-Honour  Stone."     It  is  broad  and  flat,  and 


LANTERN   AND  WATER-BASIN 


FUKAGAWA  GARDEN 


placed  in  a  horizontal  position,  next  to  the  "Worshipping  Stone," 
it  is  an  important  feature.  It  answers  to  a  small  vertical  of  second- 
ary importance.  No.  9,  called  "Pedestal,"  or  "Snail  Stone," 
occupies  the  first  rank  among  the  stepping-stones,  and  is  ar- 
ranged in  the  foreground.  It  is  somewhat  higher  than  the 
others.  No.  10,  called  "  Idle  Stone,"  consists  of  two  broad, 
low,  and  somewhat  round  stones,  should  be  placed  in  the  shade 
along  the  water.  Others  shown  in  the  plate  are  of  minor  im- 
portance, and  their  special  names  are  not  given  ;  they  are 
merely  arranged  to  produce  harmony  in  the  composition. 


Japanese   Landscape    Gardening 

TREES. 

Before  giving  a  full  account  of  the  vegetation  in  Japanese 
gardens  one  must  mention  that  a  particularly  noteworthy  tree  is 
always  found  among  several  others  of  less  importance.  No.  i, 
termed  "Principal  Tree"  [S/iojin-boku),  is  a  pine  or  an  oak 
well  grown,  accompanied  by  other  trees  with  thick  foliage. 
No.  2,  called  "Perfection  Tree"  {Keiyo-hoku),  is  only  second 
in  importance  to  No.  i.  Its  trunk,  branches,  and  foliage  are 
objects  (pf  particular  interest.  No.  3,  called  "  Tree  of  Solitude  " 
[Sckizoi-boku),  may  be  either  single  or  grouped,  but  must 
always  have  thick  foliage.  It  is  intended  to  give  shade  and  to 
impart  a  very  secluded  aspect  to  the  garden.  No.  4,  called 
"Cascade  Circuit"  [takigakoi],  consists  of  a  number  of  low 
trees  or  even  bushes.  They  are  planted  around  the  waterfall  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  shelter  the  cascade  from  too  much  bold 
exposure  to  the  eyes.  No.  5,  having  the  name  of  "Setting 
Sun"  [Sekiyo-boku),  is  planted  in  the  background  of  the  garden. 
The  tree  is  planted  to  turn  westward,  and  is  intended  to  screen 
the  garden  from  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun.  The  tree  best 
adapted  for  the  purpose  is  generally  maple,  or,  if  this  cannot 
be  obtained,  at  least  another  red  foliage  tree  should  be  pro- 
cured that  would  produce  a  striking  effect  under  the  evening 
sunshine.  They  are  sometimes  replaced  by  the  cherry  and 
plum  tree.  No.  6  is  called  the  "Perspective  Pine"  {Mikosi- 
matsii) ;  it  is  designed  to  give  an  effect  of  extended  distance 
and  naturally  is  placed  behind  a  garden  or  in  a  place  partly 
concealed.  No.  7  goes  by  the  name  of  the  "  Outstretching 
Pine"  [Nagashi'-ina/sH),  suggesting  branches  overhanging  a 
stream  or  a  lake.  This  is  generally  a  single  evergreen  tree 
in  the  foreground  wdth  branches  outstretching  over  a  stream. 

Other  accessories  are  :  A,  a  well,  with  a  weeping  willow  ; 
B,  a  lantern,  just  close  to  the  tree  No.  2 — the  light  from  the 
lantern  is  thrown  over  the  water ;  C,  the  back-gate  of  the  gar- 
den ;  D,  a  bridge  leading  from  the  mainland  to  the  lake  islet ; 
E,  small  passway  on  a  plank  ;  F,  an  arched  stone  bridge  with 
moulded  stone  parapet ;  G,  a  w^ater  basin  with  a  sink  and  a 
pool  ;  H,  a  stone  lantern  behind  the  w^ater-basin.  The  step- 
ping-stones in  the  foreground  guide  the  steps  of  a  stroller 
from  the  garden  to  the  veranda,  while  the  entire  ground  is 
covered  with  well-prepared  earth. 


140 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 


ILL  GARDEN— INTERMEDIARY  STYLE 


ILL  GARDEN  ROUGH  STYLE 


HILL  GARDEN — IXTERMP:DLARV    STYLE. 

Plate  II  represents  a  Hill  garden  of  the  intermediary  or 
semi-elaborated  style.  Here  only  four  hills  are  given,  corre- 
sponding to  Hills  Nos.  I,  2,  3,  5,  produced  on  the  Plate  I.     In 


141 


Japanese   Landscape   Gardening 

this  garden  the  examples  of  "distant  mountains,"  "near 
mountain"  and  "  mountain  spur"  are  only  suggested  by  the 
general  outline. 


FLAT  GARDEN— FINISHED    STYLE 


STONES. 

Stones  I,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6.  7,  8  and  9  are  similar  in  arrangement 
to  those  shown  in  Plate  I.  It  must  be  observed  that  the  stone 
No.  5  has  been  submerged  into  the  water,  while  in  Plate  I  it  is 
shown  quite  distinctly.  Other  stones,  too,  have  been  replaced  by 
large  ones.  As  a  rule,  the  heavier  and  larger  the  stones  used, 
the  smaller  they  are  in  number.  Stone  10,  placed  by  the 
wooden  bridge,  is  termed  "Edge  Stone."  Stone  11,  called 
"Screen  Stone,"  forms  another  type  of  perfection  in  the  back- 
ground. No.  12,  placed  vertically,  and  No.  13,  placed  hori- 
zontally, form  the  bottom  of  a  cascade,  and  together  with  other 
stones  form  a  rockery. 

The  "Principal  Tree,"  No.  i,  is  a  single  pine  tree  with  a 
bush  placed  beneath.  No.  2,  "Tree  of  the  Setting  Sun,"  is 
planted  at  the  extreme  west.     No.  3,  "Tree  of  Solitude,"  some- 


European   and   Japanese   Gardens 


Japanese   Landscape    Gardening 


BRACKET  BRIDGE 


FUKAGAWA   GARDEN 


what  larger,  fronts  to  the  east.  No.  4,  "  Cascade  Screening 
Tree,"  is  an  outstretching  pine,  which  partly  shelters  the  water- 
fall. "Perfection  Tree,"  "Perspective  Pine,"  and  "Stretching 
Pine,"  are  not  placed  in  this  form  of  garden.  The  lake  is  smaller 
than  the  waterfall ;  here  it  is  well  represented  with  an  islet 
and  a  bridge  over  it.  "  The  Snow-View  Lantern,"  as  shown  in 
Plate  I,  is  placed  in  the  background  and  in  close  connection 
with  the  "Western  Tree"  and  the  "Distance  Stone"  (No. 
1 1 ).  The  other  stone-lantern  in  the  center  is  much  larger  in 
size,  and  plays  an  important  role  in  the  whole  composition. 
The  arbor,  water-basin  and  other  features  profusely  used  in 
the  elaborate  style  are  wanting  in  many  instances  in  this 
style  of  garden.  For  the  enclosure  a  bamboo  fence  only 
is  used. 

HILL   garden — ROUGH    STYLP:. 

Plate  III  gives  a  model  of  a  rough  hill  garden,  where  only 
the  principal  points  of  interest  are  given.  Here  two  small 
mounds  answer  for  hills,  and  give  an  idea  of  slight  elevation, 


European   and  Japanese   Gardens 

but  the  representation  of  the  "  Distant"  and  "  Near  Hills"  are 
always  kept  in  the  scheme.  A  few  stones  disposed  tastefully 
suffice  to  g"ive  a  faint  resemblance  to  the  original  elaborate  fin- 
ished style.  Stone  i,  the  "Guardian  Stone,"  marks  one  of  the 
principal  points,  and  is  backed  by  a  tree  of  somewhat  smaller 
height  with  fiat  stones  and  bushes.  No.  2,  ha\ing  the  name 
of  the  "  Moon-Shadow  Stone,"  occupies  a  position  on  the 
furthermost  prominence,  paired  with  a  flat  stone  ;  the  same 
eftect  may  be  produced  by  a  group  of  shrub  bushes,  with 
a  stone  lantern  of  larger  size,  and  a  spreading  pine-tree.  No. 
3,  a  flat  stone  of  same  group,  corresponds  to  the  Hill  2  in  the 
"  Finished  Style."  No.  4  is  indispensable.  The  "  Principal  De- 
clining Stone"  is  placed  by  the  water.  It  may  serve  as  an 
"  Idling  Stone,"  No.  10,  of  the  Plate  I,  previously  described. 
No.  5  is  the  "  Seat-of-Honour  Stone,"  accompanied  by  a  com- 
panion stone  and  bushes,  and  is  often  backed  by  the  "Tree  of 
the  Evening  Sun.''  No.  6  forms  the  bank  of  the  stream  and 
extends  to  the  east.  Here  the  lake  is  reduced  to  a  mere  stream. 
It  has  its  source  behind  the  "Guardian  Stone,"  amidst  rock- 
work.  Both  sides  of  the  stream  are  connected  by  a  log  bridge. 
A  water-basin  in  the  foreground  is  quite  alone.  The  stepping 
stones  are  somewhat  larger.  No.  9,  the  "  Pedestal  Stone,"  and 
No.  8,  the  "  Label  Stone,"  are  intended  to  be  equally  perfect 
imitations  of  nature. 


A   GENTLEMAN'S   GARDEN 


145 


Japanese   Landscape    Gardening 


FLAT   GARDEN— INTERMEDIARY  STYLE 


FLAT  GARDEN  — ROUGH   STYLE 


146 


European  and  Japanese  Gardens 


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STONE  STEPS 


HAKONE  TEMPLE 


FLAT   GARDP:N — FINISHED    STVLK. 

Now  we  have  to  describe  the  Flat  Gardens  [liira-uiica) 
shown  in  Plates  I\\  V  and  VI.  Here  is  shown  a  \alley  or  a 
pond.  The  three  styles:  Finished,  Intermediary  and  Roiig'h  are 
as  important  in  Flat  Gardens  as  they  are  in  Hill  Gardens. 


Japanese   Landscape    Gardening 

,-.-j'.yjj'4-a.-..-ii. 


KUNOOZAN    TEMPLE  AT  SHIZUOKA 


European   and  Japanese   Garde 


NS 


In  an  example  of  style  (Plate  IV)  most  of  the  ground  is 
covered  with  fine  earth.  Stone  i,  the  "Guardian  Stone," 
and  Stone  2,  "  Principal  Rock,"  occupy  the  center,  and  with 
other  rock-work  form  the  mouth  of  a  cascade. 

Although  no  water  is  visible,  yet  the  conception  of  the 
source  is  never  neglected,  for  it  is  represented  bv  a  white  peb- 
ble.    It  is  backed  by  stones  Nos.  3  and  4,  which  would  not 


GARDEN    LANTERNS 


WATER-BASINS  AND  LANTERNS 


149 


Japanese   Landscape    Gardening 

fail  to  give  an  idea  of  the  hidden  spring.  Stone  5,  "  Worship- 
ping Stone,"  occupies  a  very  important  position  in  the  center 
of  the  ground.  No.  7  is  called  the  "  Island  Stone,"  as  the  land 
extends  far  enough  to  give  an  appearance  of  an  island.  No. 
6,  the  "  Perfect  View  Stone,"  besides  the  well,  is  arranged  with 
shrubs  in  connection  with  other  stones.  No.  8,  "  Moon-Shadow 
Stone,"  is  re-enforced  with  rock- work  and  bushes.  No.  9  is  a 
group  called  the  "Stone  of  the  Evening  Sun."     Behind  them 


HOUSE   GARDEN 


we  have  the  large  "Tree  of  the  Evening  Sun."  Tree  No.  i,  the 
"Principal  Tree,"  and  the  "Cascade  Tree,"  are  evergreens,  to 
be  visible  between  Stones  i  and  2.  The  "Tree  of  Solitude"  is 
represented  by  two  small  pines  in  connection  with  shrubs. 
Plants  and  a  stone  lantern  marked  D  are  also  placed  so  as  to 
be  attractive.  A  well,  and  a  water-basin,  as  well  as  the  ever- 
greens, form  a  part  of  the  foreground.  On  the  western  side 
one  notes  a  water-basin  A,  a  stone  lantern  B,  a  screen  fence, 


150 


European   and   Japanese    Gardens 

and  a  trained  pine.  This  comljination  shows  a  cultivated 
taste.  In  the  foreground  is  placed  Stone  No.  lo,  termed 
"Stone  of  the  Two  Gods."  No.  1 1,  "  Pedestal  Stone,"  and  No. 
12,  "Level  Stone,"  are  placed  among^  the  stepping-stones. 
In  this  form  of  garden  a  cleared  ground  is  arranged  in  the 
center.  Stepping-stones  are  placed  near  the  well  and  water- 
basin  and  mark  the  boundarv. 


FLAT    garden — INTERMEDIARY    STYLE. 

Plate  V  is  intended  to  give  an  idea  of  the  "  Intermediary 
Style"  of  a  "Flat  Garden."  It  is  somewhat  more  boldly  exe- 
cuted than  the  previous  one.  In  the  middle  and  in  front  of  No. 
2  or  "Seat-of-Honour  Stone  "  one  hnds  the  "  Guardian  Stone  " 
No.  I,  with  pagoda  stone  A  as  well  as  a  pine-tree  and  a  few 
shrubby  plants.  No.  3,  "  Moon-Shadow  Stone,"  is  placed  in  the 
further  end  in  combination  with  a  flat  stone.  No.  4  and  No. 
5  consists  of  the  "Worshipping  Stone"  and  the  "Stone  of  the 
Setting  Sun,"  as  they  are  designated.  The  latter  fronts  to  the 
west;  thence  comes  the  name.  No.  6,  "Stone  of  Two  Ciods," 
is  similar  to  the  previous  one.  No.  7,  "Pedestal  Stone,"  and 
No.  8,  "Level  Stone,"  form  a  feature  of  the  foreground  and  with 
a  few^  stepping-stones  form  the  border  of  the  ground  and 
lead  from  the  gate  to  the  well.  Besides  these  there  is  also  a 
large  oblong  step  in  front  of  the  veranda  answering  to  the 
threshold.  An  open  space  in  the  center  of  the  garden  is  the 
ideal  representation  of  water  while  the  "Worshipping  Stone" 
there  signifies  an  island.  The  well,  as  might  be  judged  from  its 
appearance,  is  rather  primitive  in  style,  being  made  of  a  rough- 
hewn  stone,  and  being  perfectly  overhung  with  thick  pines 
and  a  few^  aquatic  plants.  The  arrangement  of  the  water- 
basin,  fence  and  lantern  is  very  similar  to  the  preceding 
one,  but  in  this  example  a  bolder  and  simpler  form  is  adopted. 
Of  the  two  stone  lanterns,  the  one  in  the  east  is  arranged  with 
rocks  and  the  other  with  a  small  clump  of  trees.  No.  3  rep- 
resents the  "Tree  of  Solitude  ;"  No.  2,  the  "Tree  of  the  Evening 
Sun."  A  large  pine  No.  i,  besides  the  "  Worshii)ping  Stone," 
plays  a  very  important  role  ;  No.  4,  the  "  Outstretching  Pine," 
overhangs  the  well. 


151 


Japanese   Landscape   Gardening 

FLAT   GARDEN — ROUGH    STYLE. 

Plate  VI  will  give  an  idea  of  this  style,  in  which  the  ele- 
ments so  luxuriously  represented  in  the  previous  forms  are 
simplified  ;  in  this  case  the  ground  itself  is  reduced  to  a 
layer  of  fine  earth.  A  well,  a  lantern,  and  trees,  stones,  etc., 
illustrate  this  peculiar  type  with  a  water  basin  and  a  drain, 
two  small  groups  of  stones,  a  few  stepping-stones  on  spa- 
cious ground.  Stone  i,  in  the  center,  is  termed  ''Guardian 
Stone";  Stone  No.  2  is  known  as  "Worshipping  Stone,"  or 
"Honour  Stone";  the  two  merge  into  one,  with  two  combi- 
nations of  the  Stone  3.  Stone  3,  located  in  the  west  and 
termed  the  "Stone  of  the  Setting  Sun,"  forms  a  quite  im- 
portant element,  to  which  are  combined  two  other  rocks,  one 
bush,  and  one  large-leaved  plant.  No.  4,  called  "Stone  of  the 
Two  Gods,"  is  the  typical  one  among  a  smaller  group  of  orna- 
ments in  the  eastern  foreground.  Here  the  stepping-stones  are 
rather  few.     They  are  bolder,  and  somewhat  rough  in  nature. 


GARDEN  OF  THE  AKASAKA  RIKIU 


152 


European  and  Japanese  Gardens 

but  no  hewn  stone  is  introduced  in  this  style  of  garden.  Two 
pines,  shrubs,  and  a  group  of  low  plants  are  all  the  vegetation 
required  in  the  garden.  These,  together  with  a  few  water 
plants,  serve  to  cover  a  rustic  well.  A  large  "Snow-stone  lant- 
ern "  also  forms  a  part  of  this  group.  In  the  corner  of  the 
foreground  to  the  west  are  shown  a  water-basin,  a  drain,  and  a 
screen  fence.  A  bamboo  enclosure  of  simple  nature  encircles 
the  garden. 


iJ 


liMpHU 


GARDEN    FENCES 


LANTERNS. 

Plate  VII  gives  the  different  types  of  garden-lanterns. 
Every  Japanese  garden  must  have  a  stone  lantern.  They  add 
greatly  to  the  composition  of  the  garden  in  connection  with 
rock-work,  shrubs,  trees,  fences  and  water-basin.  In  introducing 
stone  lanterns,  however,  strict  principles  of  harmony,  both  in 
size  and  form,  must  be  observed,  otherwise  it  would  be  detri- 
mental to  the  effect  of  the  garden  itself.  They  are  generally 
located  at  the  foot  of  a  hill,  on  an  island,  on  the  bank  of 
a  lake,  by  a  well  or  a  water-basin.     The   use   of  the   lantern 


■53 


Japanese   Landscape    Gardening 


GARDEN   GATEWAYS 


is  not  to  give  light,  as  might  be  supposed,  but  it  serves  only 
as  an  architectural  ornament.  True,  sometimes  the  lantern  is 
lighted,  but  it  is  generally  in  a  very  limited  extent.  When 
the  lantern  is  situated  along  the  lake  or  by  a  stream,  it  is 
generally  lighted,  to  produce  a  fine  efi'ect  against  the  water. 

watp:r-basins. 

Plate  VIII  represents  dift'erent  styles  of  water-basins  and 
stone  lanterns,  not  mentioned  elsewhere.  The  proper  use  of  a 
water-basin,  is  for  washing  the  hands;  and  it  is  therefore 
placed  near  the  veranda  of  a  house ;  but  water-basins,  with  other 
accessories,  such  as  lanterns,  bridges,  etc.,  are  designed  to 
be  an  attraction  in  a  garden,  and  when  placed  beside  orna- 
mental hedges  or  concealed  by  foliage  are  very  pleasing  in 
effect. 

GARDEN    FP:NCES. 

Plate  IX  gives  different  types  of  hedges  and  bamboo  screens 
such  as  are  used  in  the  garden.  Sometimes  they  serve  as  the 
boundary  of  the  garden  ;  on  other  occasions  they  serve  to 
shelter  obstacles,  while  in  other  cases  they  only  serve  as  or- 
naments.     They    are    arranged    along  water-basins,  and   are 


154 


European   and    Japanese   Garden; 


^^ia» 


GARDEN  BRIDGES 


GARDEN  ARBORS 


termed  "Sleeve  Fences"  {sode-gaki).  They  are  generally 
made  of  bamboo,  held  by  wooden  frames,  twigs  or  branches. 
They  are  intended  to  give  a  rustic  aspect.  Cords  and  knots,  as 
used  for  force  work,  are  always  objects  of  high  importance. 
Fibers  of  sago,  fancifully  colored,  are  well  deserving  of  merit, 
although    in    many    cases  creepers  are    used. 


155 


Japanese    Landsape    Gardening 


GATFAVAVS. 


Plate  X  gives  grates  and  gateways.  Every  garden  is  pro- 
vided with  different  forms  of  entrances.  Tliese  forms  vary  ac- 
cording to  the  size,  style,  and  nature  of  the  garden.  The  site 
of  a  eatewav  is  alwavs  carefullv  chosen. 


CzARDEN    BRIDGES. 

Plate  XI  illustrates  different  kinds  of  garden  bridges. 
Some  of  them  are  made  of  stone,  while  others  are  formed  by 
rock-work,  with  earth  on  them.  It  is  not  intended  to  give  a 
quick  access  over  a  water  course,  but  rather  to  add  an  attrac- 
tion to  a  garden.  It  equally  serves  to  allow  a  pleasant  view  of 
the  pond  and  stream  beneath  to  those  who  may  stroll  over  it. 


SUMMER    HOUSES — ARBORS. 

A  large  garden  is  invariably  provided  with  one  or  more 
summer  houses  or  arbors,  constructed  on  a  hill  or  other  emi- 
nence. From  the  summer  house  usually  a  charming  view  can 
be  obtained  of  the  garden.  Different  types  are  given  in  Plate 
XII.  They  vary  from  the  simple  to  a  very  artistic  construc- 
tion, with  floors,  doors,  and  windows.  The  Japanese  denounce 
geometrical  regularity,  as  it  is  always  thought  to  vitiate  the 
taste. 


156 


NOTES    ON 

A    JAPANESE    GARDEN 

IN    CALIFORNIA 

^V   C.     H.    Townscnd 


NOTES    ON 

A    JAPANESE    GARDEN 

IN    CALIEORNIA 

By   C.    H.    rOWNSEND 

AN  experiment  has  been  in  process  of  development  in 
San  Francisco,  wliich  illustrates  the  possibilities  of 
1^  introducing  the  pleasing  and  picturesque  effects  of 
Japanese  g'ardens  in  a  foreign  country.  The  accompanying- 
illustrations  from  this  garden  are  interesting  when  studied  in 
connection  with  the  subject  as  it  is  presented  by  Mr.  Honda, 
and  as  it  has  l)een  shown  in  the  \  arious  illustrations  from  exist- 
ing gardens  in  Japan. 


THE    ENTRANCE 


JAPANESE   GARDEN    IN   CALIFORNI 


159 


Notes  on   a    Japanese   Garden    in   California 


It  is  interesting  to  observe  the  variations  in  feelin^^^  and 
effects  between  it  and  the  i^^ardens  in  Japan.  The  greater  free- 
dom of  treatment  and  less  conventionality  shown  in  this  gar- 
den may  probably  be  attributed  to  the  influence  of  work  in 
this  country  on  the  gardener,  or  possibly  to  the  lack  of  age, 

which  is  an  im- 
portant factor  in 
the  hnal  produc- 
tion of  the  effects 
attained. 

A  Japanese 
gardener,  Mr. 
Hagiwara,  and 
his  family  were 
secured,  and  the 
design,  planting 
and  making  of 
the  garden  was 
left  entirely  in 
their  hands. 

This  garden  is 
probably  the  only 
important  one  of 
its  kind  in  this 
country,  but  its 
accessibility  to  the 
public  has  been 
the  means  of  at- 
tracting consider- 
able attention  to 
the  methods  of 
the  Japanese  gar- 
dener. The  gar- 
den was  opened  to  the  public  as  a  Japanese  Exhibit  at  the 
Mid-Winter  Fair  in  California  in  1893.  Its  attractions  were 
immediately  recognized  and  its  development  has  prospered 
under  the  Park  Commission,  which  is  fully  alive  to  its  value 
as  one  of  the  city's  pleasure  grounds. 

The  tract  selected  for  the  garden  was  covered  with  a  scat- 
tered growth  of  pine  trees  perhaps  fifteen  years  old,  most  of 
which  were  permitted  to  remain,  but  which  have  been  consid- 


FLOWERS  IN    POTS 
A  JAPANESE    GARDEN    IN   CALIFORNIA 


European   axd    Japanese   Gardens 


Notes  on   a  Japanese   Garden    in   California 


SUMMER-HOUSE  AND  STREAM 


A  JAPANESE  GARDEN   IN  CALIFORNIA 


erably  altered  in  appearance  by  Mr.  Hagivvara.  The  ground 
occupied  is  nearly  an  acre  in  extent.  A  Japanese  family 
reside  in  the  garden,  the  ladies,  always  in  native  costume, 
serving  tea  to  visitors  for  a  small  charge. 

The  garden  at  San  Francisco  is  one  of  very  brief  growth 
as  compared  with  the  ancient  gardens  of  Japan,  but  its  at- 
tractions have  been  added  to  from  time  to  time  and  have 
increased  with  its  age.  The  composition  of  the  Japanese 
garden  depends  chiefly  upon  the  arrangement  of  its  trees, 
boulders,  paths,  streams,  bridges  and  other  artificial  structures. 
It  is,  least  of  all,  a  flower  garden,  and  is  probably  best  under- 
stood when  regarded  as  a  reduced  copy  of  the  scenery  of  a 
country — conveying  the  impression  produced  by  a  picture. 
While  it  is  true  that  most  of  the  visitors  to  this  transplanted 
garden  regard  it  as  merely  a  novelty,  it  is  nevertheless  one  of 
a  type  that  would  be  most  satisfactory  if  adopted  generally  in 
this  country.  Its  various  features  remain  attractive  throughout 
the  year  and  afford  opportunities  for  continuous  development. 


162 


D.   H.   KILL  LIBRARY 


